PiS election win may worsen relations between Vilnius and Warsaw
BNS/TBT Staff/VILNIUS
According to Lithuanian professor, Sarunas Liekis, from Kaunas’ Vytautas Magnus University, the landslide victory won by the Law and Justice party in Poland’s parliamentary elections may worsen relations between Vilnius and Warsaw on the issue of the Polish national minority.
“They wont be easy to talk to,” Liekis told BNS following the election results of exit polls published on Sunday evening.
Poland’s opposition conservative Law and Justice (PiS) is headed by Jaroslaw Kaczynski. It scored a clear victory against the ruling Civic Platform platform party.
According to the exit polls, PiS will probably be able to rule alone.
Liekis says that PiS now consists of entirely different politicians than those who fostered extremely warm ties with Lithuania over a decade ago.
“Speaking about the relations between Lithuania and Poland, I am skeptical about their victory,” Liekis told BNS on Sunday. “PiS is now made up of entirely different people who are predatory.
“They are politicians of different culture. They are far more practical, calculating, value-based and defending their interests.”
Liekis said that Poland’s new administration will actively react to “indignation expressed by various Polish organisations in Poland, as well as petitions.”
“Any minor outcry or indignation in our country will immediately trigger a relevant reaction in Poland, as the drive to take care of Poles abroad is very strong within the party,” he continued.
In Liekis’ opinion, a government consisting of PiS members may support the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania.
“In terms of values, the PiS and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania are like twins.
The Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania is very close to the Lithuanian conservatives in terms of its platform,” he added.
Liekis added the changes in the Polish government may lead to more productive cooperation on security matters.
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