According to the Tusk government’s coalition agreement, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, a former member of the Polish Communist Party (PZPR), has just become—on a rotational basis—the Speaker of the lower house of the Polish Parliament (Sejm), the second most important office in the country after the President of the Republic of Poland. Thirty-six years after the “democratic transformation,” a communist with a questionable track record is at the helm of power in a theoretically free Poland.

Regarding the return to power of communists in Poland, I spoke with Stanisław Żaryn, analyst and political scientist, President of the National Security Foundation Institute, and former Deputy Minister Coordinator of Special Services.

Can we recall Włodzimierz Czarzasty’s communist past?

Włodzimierz Czarzasty was an active politician in the Polish Communist Party (PZPR) during the communist era. He joined the party in 1983, at a time when the communist authorities were committing atrocities: shooting workers, carrying out political murders, and having declared martial law in 1981 to suppress and mass-repress the anti-communist opposition. By entering the Communist Party, Czarzasty knew the nature of the regime and was not deterred by it. He remained in the PZPR until the very end, until 1990.

Subsequently, his career was a fairly typical example of post-communist life: he was active in politics, founded several minor formations and parties, held public offices, and managed business activities. He was one of the beneficiaries of the economic transformation from socialism to capitalism, which allowed him to acquire shares in various enterprises created from the sale of party and public assets from the communist era. His return to political life occurred thanks to ties with Donald Tusk’s circle, which led to Czarzasty becoming Speaker of the Sejm.

Is it true that Czarzasty considered General Jaruzelski—responsible for imposing martial law in Poland and the military-communist dictatorship—a “man worthy of respect”? And the Red Army as the “liberator” of Poland?

It is true. Czarzasty defines himself as a post-communist. In many of his statements, he has rehabilitated communist Poland and defended the Red Army, explaining that it had “liberated Poland.” In doing so, he aligned himself with Russian propaganda used in actions against Poland. He harbored a favorable view of General Jaruzelski, the communist dictator, despite him being a man responsible for political murders and years of enslavement.

While praising Gen. Jaruzelski, he called General Ryszard Kukliński a traitor…

Exactly. It is worth remembering that Jaruzelski was a communist dictator at the service of the Soviet Union, while General Kukliński was a soldier of the Polish People’s Army who sided with the Americans and passed secret material to the CIA regarding Soviet plans for a nuclear war against the West. Between 1971 and 1981, Kukliński transferred over 40,000 pages of documents concerning the Polish People’s Republic, the USSR, and the Warsaw Pact to the West.

These documents included Soviet plans to invade Western European countries during the Cold War, plans for the use of nuclear weapons by the USSR, technical data on new Soviet weapons—including the T-72 tank and Strela-2 missiles—the deployment of Soviet anti-aircraft units in Poland and the GDR, and the methods used by the Soviet army to evade detection by spy satellites. Today we can say with certainty that Kukliński’s mission saved the world from the specter of a nuclear war intended, among other things, to destroy Poland.

This says a lot about the current situation in Poland and Polish politics…

The Polish parliament is currently led by a man whose statements call into question the strategic orientation of Polish security and foreign policy. How can one defend a general who collaborated with the Kremlin and attack a general who collaborated with the Americans against the Soviet Union? This is an absolute scandal, considering that relations and cooperation with the United States are the foundation of Poland’s international security, and the country that threatens us is always Russia. Unfortunately, this elicits no reaction from Prime Minister Tusk, who, moreover, is making increasingly provocative statements against the United States.

Czarzasty’s name appears among those associated with financial scandals after 1989, such as the Rywin case. Could you recall Czarzasty’s “dark” affairs?

The Rywin case is still alive in Poland. Czarzasty was identified as one of the individuals implicated in that corruption scandal, which concerned bribery attempts in the legislative process to ensure that a law passed in 2002 favored a media conglomerate. It is also important to know about Czarzasty’s other issues related to the privatizations carried out in the 1990s, which allowed him to improperly misappropriate assets inherited from the collapse of the communist state. Thanks to his connections and his involvement in the communist government, Czarzasty managed to transition “smoothly” from a Communist Party politician to a businessman in the Third Polish Republic.

Recently, it emerged that Czarzasty has contacts with Svetlana Czestnych, an entrepreneur linked to certain decision-making centers in Russia. Isn’t this worrying?

The ties with Czestnych are subject to analysis by experts, but so far they have not triggered any reaction from Tusk. The situation is once again dramatic, as his relationship and ties with Czestnych represent a real threat to Poland and to Czarzasty himself. Czestnych is Russian, runs business activities in Russia, and collaborates with the inner circles of the Russian authorities; she has collaborated with the FSB, the Russian secret services.

Had these contacts previously been the subject of investigation by the relevant services?

Czarzasty has done everything possible to avoid any verification procedures. He took concrete actions to avoid being subjected to checks by the secret services. And today, according to Polish law, he is no longer required to undergo such checks because, as Speaker of the Sejm, he has access to classified secret information. Avoiding secret service investigations further strengthens the doubts regarding Czarzasty and his ties.

How is it possible that a person with such a past can pursue a career in a Poland that calls itself democratic, without ever being held accountable for their past?

The Polish political landscape is currently clear: Czarzasty and his left-wing party are necessary to govern. Without them, there is no majority in Parliament. By virtue of political agreements and pacts, he became Speaker of the Sejm. Although I have a feeling there is something more at stake. Czarzasty provides Tusk with what he needs: war on the opposition and constant confrontation.

In former communist countries, former party activists now wear various masks: “Europeanism,” pro-LGBT, environmentalism… Which mask does the communist Czarzasty wear?

In Poland, post-communists quickly began presenting themselves as liberals, benefiting from changes and transformations, and often finding themselves in a far better position than the heroes who fought the communist regime. They then began giving lectures on how to fight for Europeanism and how to gain the favor of Western elites and the European Union establishment. Czarzasty’s career is a glaring example of a post-communist returning to the spotlight, becoming the face of the Polish Parliament, giving lessons on how to manage Polish affairs, and even launching insinuations against the President of the United States, our main ally.

Exploiting his position as Speaker of the Sejm, Czarzasty is attacking President Nawrocki, who was elected a year ago. Could you comment on Czarzasty’s actions?

We have a broader problem: the return of individuals with a communist past into public debate and state institutions, including the secret services and state administration. The public media, but also the administration, are now shaped or co-shaped by people previously associated with the communist authorities and even the security services. This is also evident in the environment the Speaker of the Sejm is creating. The situation is extremely unfavorable for Poland, even dangerous. We are witnessing the return of post-communist ghosts not only in politics but also in the media and the entire national security system. This stems from the political line adopted by Donald Tusk several years ago.

The EU “worries” when right-wing and conservative forces come to power, immediately sounding the alarms of a return to nationalism or fascism. Why does Brussels remain silent when communists like Czarzasty and his former comrades come to power?

The European Union is dominated by a liberal-progressive establishment that has been fighting conservative and right-wing forces for many years. Probably, if you asked EU officials and politicians from these circles what the greatest threat is today—Russia, China, Iran, the United States, or the right in Europe—they would conclude that Americans and conservatives are evil incarnate and must be fought.

One might be outraged by this, but this deep hypocrisy stems from decades of dominance by groups that think this way: that right-wing and conservative values must be erased from Europe, that the United States is worse than Russian or Chinese influence. This approach has become the ideological foundation for fatal errors like migration policy in Europe: in the name of defending liberal values, Europe now finds itself on the brink of civil war and risks the paralysis of one member state after another. Enemies, foreign secret services, and those who manipulate against the EU take advantage of this. But this reality, unfortunately, does not change the thinking of the Union’s “elite.”