Poland Accuses Germany of Meddling in Ballot Via Tabloid
(Bloomberg) -- President Andrzej Duda accused Germany of meddling in Poland's presidential election, citing a critical article in a local newspaper owned by Axel Springer SE, a Swiss-German media group.
Fakt, Poland's best-selling tabloid, led its Friday issue with a report about Duda's pardon of a man sentenced for molesting his daughter, questioning the president's pledge to defend children from abuse. Duda's pardon lifts a court ban on the convicted molester from contacts with his daughter and wife, and was requested by the victims.
Duda is in a tight runoff against Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski with nine days to go until the vote and has positioned himself as the champion of family values against sinister forces seeking to undermine them. His outraged campaign called on the German ambassador to react.
“This attack is slander, a dirty campaign,” Duda shouted at a rally in Boleslawiec, a town near the German border. “I did it for this family,” he said about the pardon.
He also commented on the nationality of Fakt's owner: “Does this company with German roots want to influence the Polish election? Does Germany want to elect the Polish president?”
The privately owned newspaper and its ownership group haven't reacted. The German embassy didn't respond to a Bloomberg request for comment.
Duda and his allies in the ruling Law & Justice party have repeatedly bashed the foreign-owned media, who they accuse of unfair coverage. The government is working on new rules to promote local ownership in the industry, raising concern among free-press activists that it's trying to muzzle dissent.
Read more about the role of the media in Poland's election
In April, the U.S. ambassador to Poland was forced to step in to defend private broadcaster TVN, owned by Discovery Inc., after it was targeted by public television following a negative report about Duda.
On its front-page on Friday, Fakt described the abuse in the incest case and asked how Duda could show leniency. It's not immediately clear how much time the perpetrator spent in jail, as child molestation cases are protected by strict privacy rules.
The president's office said in a statement that the pardon was requested by the victim, who's now an adult, and was backed by positive recommendations from courts as well as the state prosecutor.
“The president took the side of the victims,” according to the statement.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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