Tens of thousands of Poles, including nationalist opposition leaders, marched through Warsaw yesterday for the annual Independence Day event organized by the extreme right. Some lit red torches and carried banners against the European Union, against Ukraine and with messages of white supremacism.
This march became a point of friction between the Polish radical right and conservatives on the one hand and the ruling liberal center on the other. Last year's general elections ended the eight-year reign of the nationalists.
Donald Tusk's government has been in power since December, but support for its coalition partners on the left and the center has been falling in polls amid infighting over key campaign issues, such as restoring abortion rights, Reuters reports.
The pro-trader Confederation, whose politicians are among the organizers of the event, appears to have gained support since the election, and is now polling around 12 percent, reflecting a rise in support in parts of Europe due to opposition to migration.
Thousands of citizens carried red and white Polish flags yesterday, while some shouted "White Europe of brotherly nations!", "Stop the European Union!", or carried banners with the inscriptions "White countries for white people", "Stop mass migration", "Stop pretending of Poland to Ukraine".
"We are joining this march... with one goal. We want the patriotic camp to be united, we want the patriotic camp to go together in this march and in other political endeavors," said Jaroslav Kaczynski, leader of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, on press conference before joining the event.
"So that Poland is sovereign and its people are not subjected to left-wing experiments that destroy social structures".
During its eight years in power, PiS sought to introduce more conservative, traditional family values into social life, including an almost complete ban on abortion, and to gain control over the media and the judiciary.
Although both the nationalist PiS party and Tusk's coalition strongly support Ukraine in the war against Russia, with the support of the majority of Poles, some are frustrated by the influx of refugees.
Warsaw authorities announced that around 90.000 people took part in the march, while the organizers estimated that there were around 200.000 people.
On the occasion of the 106th anniversary of Poland's independence, the Anti-Fascist Coalition organized a march called "For Freedom, Ours and Yours".
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