In the liberal-leftist Guardian, Paul Taylor, an analyst from the European Policy Centre, argued that “Donald Tusk may be the last remaining leader capable of preparing Europe’s response to the impending return of Donald Trump to the White House.” In his article titled „Why Poland’s Donald Tusk is best positioned to be Europe’s ‘Trump whisperer,’” he described various European leaders struggling with significant domestic issues, rendering them insufficiently focused on US relations. Taylor also pointed to the „Brexit-marginalized” role of Keir Starmer (the UK Prime Minister) and characterized the Italian and Hungarian prime ministers as „unable to build a European consensus to the extent that the Polish Prime Minister can.”
I doubt Donald Tusk has the capacity to „whisper” to Donald Trump; it seems more like Taylor is conjuring up his own fantasy world. Moreover, he’s behaving like a bull in a china shop.
Does Mr. Taylor know that Donald Trump’s inauguration will be watched on TV by Prime Minister Tusk from his couch…? Poland’s prime minister is one of only three European leaders who hasn’t received an invitation to the American president’s inauguration. Does Mr. Taylor know who the other two uninvited leaders are? No? Let me help. They are Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus. Quite the illustrious company! Oh, and one more small detail: Donald Tusk’s predecessor, Mateusz Morawiecki, one of the leaders of the opposition Law and Justice party, has been invited to the inauguration. Evidently, when it comes to U.S. relations, one „success” of Donald Tusk follows another. But there’s more.
People say that Donald Trump is petty and exceptionally vindictive. I don’t know; I’ve never met President Trump personally. If he lacks such traits, Donald Tusk should count himself lucky. Why? Surely, you’ve seen the photo of Tusk pointing his fingers like a gun at Trump’s back during the G7 summit in Canada in June 2018. Tusk even posted the picture on his Twitter. A „great” joke, and let’s just hope Trump has a sense of humor about „great” jokes. But that’s not all.
In March 2023, during a meeting with voters, Donald Tusk suggested that Donald Trump might have been influenced by Russian intelligence services. He stated that „Trump and his dependence on Russian intelligence are no longer up for debate” and that „American intelligence does not rule out that Trump was recruited by Russian services 30 years ago.” Indeed, Tusk is „whispering” to Trump with all his might! But there’s more.
During the U.S. election campaign, Donald Tusk and his political allies openly supported Kamala Harris, while Tusk’s opponents backed Donald Trump. An unprecedented situation occurred in the Polish parliament: when the U.S. election results were announced, opposition MPs stood up and chanted „Donald Trump, Donald Trump,” while Tusk’s party members sat in silence, clenching their fists in frustration. I understand Mr. Taylor might not be aware of these facts, but I assure you, President Trump knows! And there’s more.
As for domestic issues, Poland is rapidly becoming Europe’s „sick person.” Tusk’s government disregards rulings from the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, the Supreme Court, the National Electoral Commission, and the National Council of the Judiciary; arrests MPs with immunity; undermines presidential powers; and appoints prosecutors in violation of existing laws. The individual currently claiming to be the Attorney General asserts they hold their position based on a „decree” from Prime Minister Tusk! Mr. Taylor, for heaven’s sake, can you find the concept of „decree” in Polish law? The last decree was used by the communist general Jaruzelski when imposing martial law in Poland in 1981.
One opposition MP has already been granted political asylum in Hungary, and a detainee in the UK is about to seek international legal protection. They might even apply for asylum from His Majesty’s Government! What does The Guardian think of that? But there’s more.
Can Donald Tusk build any European consensus? Don’t make me laugh! The Hungarians openly refer to the „puppet government in Warsaw.” And if there’s a puppet, there’s someone pulling the strings. Could you tell me who that might be? Tusk boasts about his toughness in Europe, claiming that no one can outmaneuver him. Yet, during a Berlin meeting on Ukraine—our closest neighbour, whom we supported during the war—what happened? Donald Tusk was excluded from the meeting like a child. Malicious tongues claim Tusk was indeed in Berlin at the time, but shopping at Kaufland.
To conclude, Mr. Taylor, please find someone else to build Europe-U.S. relations. Donald Tusk is the perfect embodiment of Mark Twain’s words: „Politics is the only field in which people who don’t know what they’re doing are elected by people who also don’t know what they’re doing.”
Your nominee would be a DISASTER for Europe.
