Tough ruling accuses Poland's PiS of illegal campaign donations – POLITICO

The issue has become a major point of contention between the new government and PiS. Tusk has long promised to hold PiS accountable for its “eight corrupt years” in power.

One of the most striking examples was the allegation that the State Forests – a body that owns most of the country's forests and sold 14.6 billion zlotys worth of wood in 2023 alone – were abused by sovereign Poland for its self-promotion ahead of the October elections.

Sovereign Poland is also under investigation for allegedly embezzling funds from a fund managed by the Ministry of Justice and controlled by the party.

Since PiS had a joint campaign account with sovereign Poland, any misdeeds of the smaller party also affect its larger ally.

PiS’s election campaign financing was also problematic.

Deputy Chairman Mariusz Błaszczak, who was Minister of Defence in the former government, appeared at a series of “military picnics” organised during the election campaign and understood as advertising for PiS.

At one of these events in August last year, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, flanked by Polish troops, described Tusk on stage as “the personification of evil in Poland”.

Błaszczak also condemned Thursday’s decision, saying: “Tusk is introducing the Belarusian system, a regime that does not respect the rights of the opposition, [and] that is trying to destroy the opposition in our country.”