Slander and accusations
While Macierewicz was accusing former Foreign Ministers of being Soviet agents, without presenting any proof, and then hiding behind the Prime Minister's back, the police were on a manhunt for a homeless man who slandered the President almost a year ago while 'tired and emotional'. Macierewicz offered a veiled apology for his comments, saying he made an "inappropriate mental shortcut." Law and Justice (PiS) declared the issue closed and Macierewicz kept his post. One wonders if the elusive Hubert H will be able to use the same excuse should the police catch up with the latter-day Pimpernel.
Despite PiS' forgiving mood, Macierewicz won few friends with his shoddy apology, which was read out by his spokesperson. One of the accused ex-Ministers, Władysław Bartoszewski, resigned in protest as head of the board of the Polish Institute of Foreign Affairs. Bartoszewski is a former resistance member, Auschwitz prisoner and an Ambassador to Germany and Austria, and one of the few individuals in Poland who is highly respected in diplomatic circles throughout Europe. However, President Kaczyński ruled out asking Bartoszewski or any of the other former Foreign Ministers "to return anywhere, especially into Polish diplomacy."
Macierewicz may have weathered this storm, but a fresh one could be brewing at the Defense Ministry. His superior, Radosław Sikorski, has youth and international respect on his side, which makes him another rarity in government and a popular Minister. Sikorski's potential as a future leading light in Polish politics could cost him in the short term, and he should be careful not to commit the cardinal sin of PiS politics, like Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, and become more popular than the Kaczyńskis. There are claims that Macierewicz was named Deputy Defense Minister to weaken Sikorski and exercise some control over him, but the young Minister seems unwilling to toe the party line. Tellingly, Sikorski was the only Minister to call Bartoszewski and apologize in person for the accusations. This will not be forgotten.
