Donald Tusk: recent EU bigwig back in command in Poland

Tusk has vowed to restore Poland’s credibility in the European Union – Copyright AFP Wojtek Radwanski

Anna Maria JAKUBEK

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who ousted the conservatives from power, is a veteran politician and former EU chief with a passion for football and roots in the anti-communist movement.

The 66-year-old leader of a pro-EU political alliance has vowed to restore Poland’s credibility in the European Union and give it an important voice amid the ongoing war in neighbouring Ukraine.

When outlining his programme to lawmakers, he insisted that Poland’s assignment was to “demand that the Western community be single-minded in support of Ukraine”. 

Tusk’s alliance won the October general election on promises to undo controversial decisions taken by the conservatives on media, abortion and the court system.

Ahead of the ballot — which saw record turnout and unprecedented mobilisation among women and young voters — Tusk brought hundreds of thousands of government opponents into the streets of Warsaw.

Tusk described the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party’s tenure as eight years of “darkness” and pledged to “right all of the wrongs”. 

Previously the head of government until 2014, he plunged back into Polish politics after returning from a stint in Brussels. 

President of the European Council until 2019, he handled crises including migration, Greece’s economic plight and tough Brexit negotiations.

After learning English from scratch for the post, he went on to win a reputation for plain speaking with a penchant for colourful phrasing. 

Of Brexit, he warned “there will be no cakes on the table for anyone, there will be only salt and vinegar”.

– Bitter enmity –

Active on social media, Tusk frequently takes shots at PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski — his longtime bitter enemy.

Kaczynski holds Tusk morally responsible for the death of his twin brother Lech, who was president at the time, in an air crash in Russia in 2010.

Tusk was prime minister when the crash — an accident according to investigators — wiped out a large chunk of the Polish establishment.

Conservatives accused Tusk’s then government of negligence in preparations for the presidential visit. 

More recently, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland’s conservatives have gone after Tusk for signing gas deals with Russia during his previous stint as premier.

Conservatives have also accused him of being soft on Germany, with Kaczynski repeatedly claiming Tusk was a “German agent”.

Tusk’s roots as a fighter go back to his upbringing in Gdansk on the Baltic Sea.

“As a young man, I was a typical hooligan… We would roam the streets, you know, cruising for a bruising” after football matches, he once told The Financial Times.

Football continues to be an obsession, with Tusk able to rattle off match results from major tournaments decades ago.

– Chimney painting –

Gdansk later became the cradle of the Solidarity movement, and it was here that Tusk forged his credentials as something of a Cold War warrior.

A trade unionist, journalist and historian, he also ran a modest industrial painting business under communism. Private enterprise was rare then, but small ventures were tolerated.

“It’s by painting all sorts of industrial sites, chimneys and bridges that he learned about the market economy,” long-time friend Jerzy Borowczak told AFP. 

After communism fell, Tusk and others formed a liberal party, pushing for sweeping privatisation of the state-run economy. 

He took power in 2007 from the Kaczynski twins and served until leaving for Brussels.

Tusk had the distinction of steering Poland through the global financial crisis as the only EU state to maintain growth. 

He is married to Malgorzata Tusk, a historian, and has two adult children, including a daughter who is a well-known fashion blogger.

Tusk is a proud Kashubian, a Slav minority from the Gdansk region. He discovered his roots as an adult, prompting him to learn the language.