Donald Tusk renewed his call for political leaders to state clearly that there is "no justification" for attacks targeting people because of their nationality.
The prime minister was asked at a news conference whether he had received a response from President Karol Nawrocki to his appeal made a day earlier, when he urged the president to speak out against recent incidents of violence.
"The response so far is silence," Tusk said.
On Tuesday, Tusk said that if Poland allowed "thugs to beat and humiliate people with impunity just because they speak with a slightly different accent," it would damage the country's reputation.
He also called on Nawrocki to stop remaining silent on the issue, referring to the president's past praise of so-called "arranged fights" among football hooligans, which Nawrocki had described as a form of "manly" and "noble" combat, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
"Let’s see what this noble hand-to-hand combat looks like in the performance of Gromda fighters," Tusk said, referring to a Polish organisation promoting bare-knuckle boxing.
Tusk said he reacted emotionally because he saw, on the one hand, spontaneous praise for Poland from thousands of foreign tourists impressed by what they saw in the country and, on the other, the growing popularity of videos showing acts of violence on Polish streets.
"It takes much less effort to destroy someone's reputation than to build it," Tusk said, adding that Poles had worked for decades to build their country's positive image abroad.
"Poland today and Poland 30 or 40 years ago are two completely different worlds," he said. "Everyone decent feels something when they see people destroying this."
Tusk said violence itself deserved condemnation and punishment, but added that such incidents also harmed what he called Poland's key national interest—its reputation.
"I expect the president, who has repeatedly promoted rather forceful or violent attitudes—I say this openly—to clearly draw this line," Tusk said.
He called on Nawrocki and other political leaders who had embraced aggressive rhetoric to "say stop" and make clear that there was "absolutely no excuse, no justification" for such acts.
Tusk rejected suggestions that he was unfairly blaming the president and right-wing leaders for recent attacks, saying he was basing his criticism on statements by right-wing politicians and Nawrocki's own past comments.
He accused Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, of denigrating the police and encouraging the creation of vigilante groups.
Meanwhile, far-right activist Robert Bąkiewicz has spoken about "pulling weeds out of Polish soil," Tusk said.
Tusk also told reporters that those involved in a recent attack on Ukrainians in the southwestern city of Wrocław described themselves as right-wing defenders of Poland's borders against migrants.
"I really do not need to convince anyone or explain who on the Polish political scene represents groups that boast about violence, whether in public life or in relations with other people," he said.
His comments came after the incident in Wrocław on Sunday in which three attackers assaulted a Ukrainian couple—a 20-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man, according to reports.
Two suspects have since been detained, and one has been charged. Tusk said the third suspect would also be arrested.
On Tuesday, Tusk recalled the large-scale support Poles provided to Ukrainians after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saying Poland had been praised internationally for its humanitarian response.
"That is now being buried if we allow thugs, hooligans and ordinary criminals to beat and humiliate people with impunity just because they speak with a slightly different accent," he said.
He added that aggression also occurred between Polish citizens and urged people to stand firmly behind the state, police and victims of violence, including women and children.
Presidential spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz responded on Tuesday by accusing Tusk of shifting responsibility for the problem onto the president and opposition.
"Every act of violence must be condemned with full force, and those responsible for brutal assaults or verbal aggression should be severely and fairly punished," Leśkiewicz said.
He added, however, that such incidents reflected what he called the government's "helplessness" and the ineffectiveness of Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński.
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Source: TVP Info, IAR, PAP
Click on the audio player above for a report by Michał Owczarek.