Polish Prime Minister to Seek Public Opinion on Accepting “Large Number of Undocumented Migrants”

Poland’s Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has announced plans to hold a referendum alongside the parliamentary elections in October. The referendum will ask voters if they are willing to accept “thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa.” This move comes as Morawiecki’s party aims to maintain power in the upcoming election.

In a video shared on Morawiecki’s social media pages, the referendum question is revealed. The video includes footage of burning cars and street violence in Western Europe, as well as a scene featuring a Black man with a knife. The party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, asks if the voters want these events to happen in Poland and if they want to retain control of their country.

The timing of this proposed referendum indicates that the current prime minister’s party will focus on migration as a key campaign topic leading up to the October election.

The ruling Law and Justice Party has consistently opposed immigration from Muslim and African countries. However, Poland currently hosts over a million Ukrainian refugees, who are predominantly White and Christian. Some officials have expressed concerns about cultural identity and security, perceiving Muslims and others from different cultures as a potential threat.

In June, the EU interior ministers endorsed a plan to distribute responsibility for unauthorized migrants entering Europe. This issue has been a longstanding political crisis for the EU, dating back to the collapse of the asylum system eight years ago when over a million people, mainly fleeing conflict in Syria, overwhelmed reception capacities in Greece and Italy.

The 27 EU nations have since debated which countries should bear the responsibility for unauthorized arrivals and whether other members should be obligated to assist them.