David Engels, a Belgian historian, philosopher and academic with ties to Poland, has argued that various German news organisations have criticised the way Poland has been dealing with the crisis even though Germany appears to be harder hit by the COVID-19 outbreak than Poland, the tysol.pl website reported.
It cited Engels as arguing that influential German publications, such as the weekly Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung daily, have unfairly suggested that Poland’s "right-wing populist" government is making nothing but mistakes amid the crisis.
The Polish website quoted Engels as asserting that “leading German media outlets, who like to invoke European solidarity, tolerance and multiculturalism so much,” should desist from using a “patronising tone” toward their eastern neighbour.
Such criticism is especially out of place in a situation where Germany is reporting more coronavirus cases and deaths than Poland, Engels argued, according to tysol.pl.
A total of 1,244 people have tested positive for the Covid-19 disease in Poland, with 16 deaths from the coronavirus so far, officials said on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, in Germany, more than 43,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed, with the death toll at 264 as of Friday morning, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Tysol.pl said Engels was a historian of antiquity, philosopher and “researcher of Europe’s identity crisis."
The website added that the Belgian professor was a lecturer at the Institute for Western Affairs in the western Polish city of Poznań.
(gs/pk)
Source: tysol.pl