Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2016-12-14-Speech-3-832-000"
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"en.20161214.48.3-832-000"2
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"Mr President, here we are again. Yet another session, and yet another opportunity for this Parliament to lecture Poland, its people and its government on how to run a democracy. But when you try to lecture a government, especially one which won a democratic election with a large majority, you lecture not just the governing party, but also the people who voted for that governing party.
No wonder people feel more detached than ever from Brussels. The Polish Government needs no lecture from you guys on how to run a democracy; but the Left, they like to give lectures on democracy while the hypocrisy blinds them to the authoritarian regimes that they have supported in the past. Many on the left of this House kept silent or even supported Soviet socialism. While members of the Polish Government and governing party fought for years to throw off the shackles of communism and oppression, and on the week of the 35th anniversary of invoking martial law in Poland, this is fresh in our minds.
It is very clear that whatever everyone's role is in this situation, it is outlined in the Treaties. This House has no real role in this; it should be for the Commission. The tone here, where we were supposed to be having a debate, seems to be undermining dialogue – it is just polarising.
So often, Members in this House refer to the Treaties and call upon the Commission to act in a fair and impartial way; yet so many are happy to throw that rule book out the window if it means cheap political points can be scored here in the Parliament. Add to that, the Polish opposition parties that, having lost democratic elections at home, seek to attack their government in Brussels and Strasbourg – forgetting the fact that they packed the Constitutional Court when they were in power and did not follow international standards on media regulation, never missing the opportunity to play judge, jury and executioner.
Some here will argue that they are defending democracy and offering a helping hand, but that helping hand is starting to feel like a controlling fist. The tone of this debate and the ones before it is why some Member States now feel less equal than others. That is why when it comes to this issue, many brave Poles who fought against martial law are beginning to feel that in Brussels it has a master rather than a partner."@en1
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