English Section

PiS politician walks out of Polish Radio interview amid row over election coverage

04.06.2025 17:00
A live interview on public broadcaster Polish Radio ended abruptly on Tuesday after a senior right-wing politician walked out, accusing journalists of bias in their coverage of the country’s presidential election.
Przemysław Czarnek, a lawmaker from Polands right-wing opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party and former education minister, arrived late for an interview on Polish Radio 3, and walked out of the studio after criticising media coverage of recent presidential elections and scandals involving his political ally Karol Nawrocki.
Przemysław Czarnek, a lawmaker from Poland's right-wing opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party and former education minister, arrived late for an interview on Polish Radio 3, and walked out of the studio after criticising media coverage of recent presidential elections and scandals involving his political ally Karol Nawrocki.Photo: PR24

Przemysław Czarnek, an MP from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party and a former education minister, appeared on Bez Uników, a current-affairs programme on Trójka – Polish Radio 3.

Czarnek arrived late for the interview with political journalist Renata Grochal. Tensions escalated when the discussion turned to Karol Nawrocki, the newly elected PiS-backed president, who faced a string of allegations during the campaign.

Among the most serious accusations are links to far-right groups and football hooligans, a controversial acquisition of an apartment from an elderly man, and past claims that Nawrocki facilitated prostitution while working as a hotel security guard - all widely reported in Polish media.

Czarnek condemned both public and private outlets for what he called a “disgusting” smear campaign.

“I have never seen such a hate-filled campaign as the one carried out by so-called public media - Polish Television in liquidation and Polish Radio in liquidation - along with mainstream outlets like Onet and TVN,” he said.

Grochal responded by citing official media monitoring data from Poland’s 2020 presidential election, showing that under the PiS leadership, public radio and television devoted more than 74% of their airtime to incumbent Andrzej Duda, while the opposition candidate at the time, Rafał Trzaskowski, received just 12%. The remaining candidates were given just over 5%.

Asked whether he supported a return to such partisan media coverage, Czarnek deflected. “You’re comparing airtime. I’m talking about content - an unbelievable sewer of lies pumped out by these so-called public media,” he said. “Fortunately, most Poles saw through your Niagara of lies and chose an excellent winner, as Donald Trump put it.”

He then abruptly ended the conversation and left the studio.

Under the previous PiS government, Poland’s public media faced repeated accusations of functioning as a tool of state propaganda, with international watchdogs warning of growing censorship and erosion of editorial independence.

Polish Radio, part of the national public media network, is currently undergoing restructuring after years of political controversy.

(mp)

Source: PR3/X/@PressRedakcja/@nexta_tv/YouTube.com/PolskieRadio24_pl