Main opposition to boycott public TVP broadcaster -Poland in, 300 Polityka

The Civic Platform (PO) has decided to instruct its members not to appear in any programmes broadcast by the public channels of TVP. The decision was taken at a national executive meeting of the party on Tuesday. The motion passed says that “under the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) public TV has become a party propaganda tool. The policies of the current board of TVP are leading to dangerous social divisions and threaten the security of Poles … This is why the party’s national executive appeals to members of the party to suspend appearances in public TV programmes at both national and regional levels until the current board of TVP is removed and social control over public television is established.” This is not the first time a political party in Poland has instigated a boycott of a TV station. PiS itself, when previously in opposition, boycotted the commercial TVN for a while, alleging bias against the party. The boycott petered out within a few months. The current ruling party, PiS, came to office in 2015 with most of the mainstream media, including public television, hostile to them. Currently, Poland’s electronic media market is diverse and pluralistic with public TV sympathetic to the government, the commercial TVN network in opposition and the Polsat commercial network neutral. Reasons for the boycott In statements made since the murder of Gdańsk Mayor Paweł Adamowicz, the PO have blamed TVP for creating an atmosphere for this murder by employing a highly strident and critical tone against the opposition. It cites as evidence highly critical material broadcast about Mayor Adamowicz’s property dealings and links to developers and his support for receiving refugees and LGBT rights. It accuses TVP of organising a media lynching of the tragically murdered mayor. The PO are trying to put political pressure on PiS and to discredit TVP in the process. 2019 is election year in Poland and the PO would welcome the neutralization of a media outlet that is sympathetic towards the government. Adamowicz murder In fact is that the PO stood against Mayor Adamowicz in the local elections last year and its candidate Jarosław Wałęsa (son of the legendary Solidarity leader of the same name) was highly critical of Mr Adamowicz’s financial dealings too. The actual election run-off between Mr Adamowicz and his PiS opponent Kacper Płażyński was considered to be a mild-mannered affair compared with some other mayoral races that took place in those elections. There is no evidence that the murder of Mayor Adamowicz was inspired by Mr Adamowicz’s record in office or by any criticism of him. The assailant shouted that he had killed Adamowicz for the Mayor represented the PO, a party he specifically blamed for what he alleged was unjust imprisonment and “torture”. The man was obviously unaware of the fact that Mr Adamowicz had ceased to be a member of the PO in 2015 and that a local mayor has no competence over police, criminal proceedings or the work of the prison system. His motivations were personal and not ideological. Reaction by other political parties Robert Biedroń, the former Mayor of Słupsk, reacted to the PO announcement by saying that he would not join it. “It is not my war,” he said in a commercial radio interview. It is also doubtful whether the Modern, the Polish People’s Party (PSL) and the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) will join the boycott. source: 300POLITYKA, POLAND IN