Former defence ministers want Macierewicz to leave office
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
15.05.2016 15:49
Former Polish defence ministers have issued an open letter saying that Antoni Macierewicz, their successor, should resign from office.
Antoni Macierewicz
Photo: Flickr.com/MEDIA WNET
The letter was published on the website of Gazeta Wyborcza.
The officials wrote that “the Law and Justice (PiS) government has undermined Poland’s position in Europe and NATO,” and current Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz “discredited the potential of the Polish Army” when he said in 2015 that “the Polish armed forces had no capacity to ensure national security.”
“Even the fiercest political struggle should not be waged at the expense of the interests of Poland. We believe that Antoni Macierewicz should not remain in office as defence minister,” the letter concludes.
The appeal was signed by former defence ministers Bronisław Komorowski (a former president), Tomasz Siemoniak, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Radosław Sikorski and former deputy defence minister Janusz Zemke.
Defence ministry spokesman Bartłomiej Misiewicz told Polish Radio that the officials who issued the letter were responsible for “years of neglect. The Polish Army was being destroyed.”
Marek Magierowski, a spokesman for the president, told broadcaster Radio Zet: “I would not worry too much about this letter and these arguments, because these are people directly linked to today's opposition, mostly active politicians." (ał/pk)