Former German President Joachim Gauck sees the election victory of Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk last year as an important signal. “This victory is significant beyond the Republic of Poland,” said Gauck on Thursday evening at the M100 Media Award ceremony in Potsdam. “Because it shows that it is not inevitable that populist, xenophobic and anti-European forces will permanently capitalize on people’s fears.”
These forces succeed in doing this all too often, said Gauck, and this can be felt “in this country too”. But Tusk’s victory showed that “Democrats are able to organize majorities when they take people’s needs for freedom and security into account.”
Tusk’s alliance won the election against the right-wing populist PiS party in autumn 2023 and took over the government in the neighbouring country. Gauck said it was a difficult time for Poland. But he added with regard to Tusk: “We see in him what people across Europe often sorely miss. Liberal and open societies also need determined, robust and recognizable leadership. Then trust is created. Where this does not happen, trust disappears.”
“Paving the way for a stable Europe”
Tusk himself was not in Potsdam. The Polish Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar accepted the media award on his behalf. The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, was also honored. “You are paving the way for a modern, stable Europe,” said Potsdam’s Mayor Mike Schubert (SPD), explaining the decision. He is the chairman of the M100 Advisory Board.
According to the organizers, the unfunded M100 Media Award is intended to honor courageous people who protest against oppression in their homeland and stand up for freedom and human rights. Before the award ceremony, around 80 editors-in-chief and representatives from science, politics and civil society discussed the effects of disinformation and Europe’s ability to defend itself in the face of the war in Ukraine.
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