Moving closer to the Polish right wing?

The AfD attracted considerable attention by inviting Professor Andrzej Nowak to a discussion event in the German Bundestag at the beginning of October. The Polish historian is an advisor to the newly elected right-wing conservative president of Poland, Karol Nawrocki. Polish media (here, for example, wyborcza.pl) – and subsequently also German media (such as RND here) – problematised Nowak's appearance as a normalisation of relations with the AfD, which is rejected by many Poles, even those on the political right, because of its positions. Until now, the AfD had mainly developed good contacts with the far-right Konfederacja, while President Nawrocki had run for election for the PiS (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość – Law and Justice).

Rafal Pankowski reported in more detail on the Polish far right in our newsletter #9.

The controversy surrounding the event provided the AfD with an opportunity to present its foreign policy on Poland in the Bundestag. In his welcoming speech, Götz Frömming (AfD MP) claimed that this event had been prepared with many discussions: "For years, we have been working hard in the Culture Committee, but also in the German-Polish Parliamentary Group, not only to maintain contacts with Poland, but also to establish new ones. We have undertaken trips and held discussions with representatives of all Polish parties, with the Minister of Education, with the Deputy Chairman of the Defence Committee and many more. We consider it a matter of course in parliament that people talk to each other (...)" (Here is a recording of the event on YouTube.) Frömming is deputy chairman of the German-Polish Parliamentary Group in this legislative period, and his two AfD colleagues Adam Balten (AfD MP) and Alexander Wolf (AfD MP), who were also present, are also members.

Redaction: Ulli Jentsch