Poland’s Duda faces backlash over participation in Zeman’s birthday

Polish President Andrzej Duda has come under fire for attending the 80th birthday party of controversial former Czech president Miloš Zeman, known for his pro-Russian views.

The birthday party was held on Saturday in Hluboká, a town on both banks of the Vltava River. Duda was joined by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and a Chinese ambassador.

“I would suggest Mr President choose his friends more carefully,” Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski (PO, EPP) told private TOK FM radio broadcaster, noting that the Polish government had advised Duda against accepting the invitation.

“I think Mr President already regrets it; this likely doesn't build his authority. In the United States, the president advocated for the interests of Ukraine at war, and here he meets with people with different views. This is not a consistent message,” Sikorski added.

Although the media reported that Zeman was nearing death a few years ago, the brief footage from the birthday party had him sitting with other leaders, smoking a cigarette and speaking English.

“What a shame,” Warsaw’s former mayor, MEP Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz (PO, EPP), wrote on X without saying whether she was mocking Duda or Zeman.

However, presidential adviser Zofia Romaszewska, an opposition activist during Poland's communist rule, defended Duda's decision to attend Zeman's event while criticising Sikorski.

“Mr President has his own opinions and ideas. They are no worse than those of Minister Radosław Sikorski. Therefore, there is no reason to particularly listen to the foreign minister,” she told the Interia news outlet on Monday.

She went on to say that Sikorski “does not abide by any standards” and “in his opinion, anyone who does not think like him deserves to be beheaded.”

Romaszewska explained that the president's presence at Zeman's birthday was not due to his support for pro-Russian politicians.

“Andrzej Duda was not the host but was invited. It was very appropriate that he went. Thank God we have such a president,” she said.

Andrzej Duda travelled to the birthday party on a state plane. Neither the flight nor the event was mentioned on the president's office website, but the flight could be found on the Flightradar24 service.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)