At a meeting with residents of Gorlice, south-eastern Poland, he said: "On October 15, Poland will defeat Tusk, the pest," referring to the leader of the largest opposition party, Civic Platform (PO).
Grzegorz Momot/PAP

Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, has warned Poles against voting for the main opposition leader, Donald Tusk, in the October 15 general election, calling Tusk “a pest.”

On Friday, Morawiecki started a nationwide tour as part of the election campaign for the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

At a meeting with residents of Gorlice, south-eastern Poland, he said: “On October 15, Poland will defeat Tusk, the pest,” referring to the leader of the largest opposition party, Civic Platform (PO).

Morawiecki called PO’s programme “a policy of liquidation.”

“PO’s policy is the policy of closing down police stations, elimination of jobs, working for PLN 4 (EUR 0.90) per hour, the poverty of pensioners, poverty of children, lack of armament for our army, liquidated military units, unsealed borders,” he argued.

“Beware of this programme… the dangerous future the anti-democratic opposition is preparing for us,” he appealed to those gathered.

According to Morawiecki, Tusk is a “double-dealer… who held the German-Russian policy together,” and in order to ensure a safe future for Poland, Poles must give maximum support for the PiS electoral list “to keep ‘turboliberals’ away from power.”

Referring to the recent anniversary of Poland’s victory over the Red Army in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, Morawiecki said: “We chased the Soviets away, we will chase Tusk away.”