How much longer will Poland remain Ukraine's closest ally?
With Polish parliamentary elections due next year, domestic political turmoil and rising hostility toward Ukrainian refugees raise questions about the country's continued support for Ukraine. Analysts discuss the causes on the "Komandcentrs" program.
Poland is set to hold parliamentary elections in a year, and its domestic political climate is growing increasingly tense. Established parties are splitting apart while new political forces emerge. Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki recently broke away from the long-ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party to form his own new political movement.
According to opinion polls, Prime Minister Donald Tusk's party still holds a clear lead over its rivals. However, if conservative opposition parties were to unite, they could theoretically pose a threat to Tusk's government. For now, the opposition is moving in the opposite direction - fragmenting into new parties rather than consolidating.
Rising tension around Ukrainian refugees
At the same time, discussions about Ukrainian refugees are taking up growing space on Poland's political agenda, accompanied by increasingly hostile attitudes among parts of society. According to The Kyiv Independent, Polish police received 180 reports of hate crimes against Ukrainians in the first six months of this year - a third more than in the same period last year.
This trend raises questions about whether, and for how long, Poland will remain one of Ukraine's most reliable supporters in its war against Russia. The topic - why tensions are rising and who might benefit from stoking hostility ahead of domestic political battles - is discussed on the program "Komandcentrs" by Elīna Vrobļevska, lecturer at Riga Stradiņš University and deputy director of the Center for East European Policy Studies, and Edvards Seliškis, historian and lecturer at the University of Latvia.
The experts examine whether hostility toward Ukrainians is rooted in historical perceptions between the two nations, or whether it is primarily a tool used by political forces ahead of the upcoming election.
