Polish journalist Wildstein lashes out at Anne Applebaum

Wildstein claimed the fact she is married to former Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski makes it impossible for her to be objective.

Wildstein said that spreading a “radically negative image” of Poland is in the interests of the country’s opposition.

“It would be unacceptable that someone so close to an important politician, say an American one, to speak out on US issues,” Wildstein said in an interview with Polish Radio journalist Halina Ostas.

“Imagine a wife of a Republican leader slamming the Democrats,” he argued.

A foreign minister under the previous Civic Platform government, Sikorski is, however, no longer in politics and now lectures at Harvard University.

In a recent article for The Washington Post, Applebaum referred to the Polish government’s drive to re-nationalise foreign-owned banks and media in Poland as “neatly combining nationalist rhetoric and socialist economics into a single phrase.”

Wildstein added: “We [members of Poland’s conservative circles] are not treated like full-fledged Europeans – the dominant Western communities treat us as if we were part of a lesser civilization and in need of education in civilization.”

He was speaking after Monday’s article published by weekly wSieci, accusing Applebaum and her husband of pursuing a mission to discredit Poland’s reputation in the West.

The publication alleged that the Sikorskis were taking advantage of their extensive network of contacts in helping shape negative opinions about Poland in the media abroad.

Meanwhile, in mid-May, when accused by a Twitter user of undermining Poland’s image abroad, Applebaum responded: “Please point to an article that I have written about Poland in the past six months.”