The AP News reports, and ABC News repeats it word for word, that "Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán suggested on Friday that Poland’s government and its prime minister, Donald Tusk, were installed by the European Union as part of a plot to remove the country’s previous right-wing populist leadership."
They further stated, "Orbán provided no evidence to substantiate his claims about Poland’s government, which was elected in 2023 with a record-high voter turnout of nearly 74%."
That is interesting because this accusation is not 'new.' I have seen it for over a year; that's right, it was made even before the elections when everybody saw that the EU was withholding funds for Poland, resulting in the government being voted out of office.
The AP says, and I quote: "Orbán has frequently clashed with the EU, which has withheld billions in financial support from Hungary over its alleged breaches of rule-of-law and democracy standards. Poland’s previous nationalist-conservative government also spent years wrangling with the EU over democratic deficiencies."
Unfortunately, only one of the two sentences is true. It should say that Poland’s previous conservative government also had billions in financial support withheld over its alleged breaches of 'rule-of-law' and 'democracy standards.' That sentence would also count as "evidence to substantiate his (Orban's) claims."
Again, calling the current Polish government 'center-right' is a gross mischaracterization. It is a far-left, if not post-communist government. Quite a few, if not half, cabinet members held positions in the last communist administration. Some of them have even attended Soviet military academies.
The AP journalists should have known that, and if they don't—and that's a big IF—they are not doing their jobs.
- Based on 'reporting' by AP News and ABC News
