Libertas on the airwaves

In Poland, there's one party that has seemed to rule the airwaves in the run-up to European Union parliamentary elections -- a party that few Poles had even heard of until recently. The Polish branch of Libertas, a party skeptical of the value of the EU and led by Irishman Declan Ganley, has launched a large-scale publicity campaign on the country’s public radio and television stations.

Critics say these media outlets are dominated by the nationalist and euroskeptic ultra right wing -- a legacy of the controversial nationalist government which was replaced by more progressive administration two years ago. Independent media watchers are complaining that Libertas is getting an unfair advantage during the campaign.

Polish TV viewers might see several Libertas campaign ads every day. In one, a couple of bored office workers at the EU headquarters in Brussels are seen wasting taxpayers' money playing with office equipment, making paper planes out of EU documents and enjoying idle gossip.

Yet according to recent surveys, Poland might actually be the most euro-enthusiastic country among the more recently joined EU members.

Popular opinion holds that EU common agricultural policy subsidies have helped modernize the Polish countryside, while EU structural funds are being used to build the infrastructure, like roads, that the country badly needs.

A multimedia approach

But in the run-up to the European Parliamentary elections, there’s no escaping Libertas’ euroskeptic campaign messages if you watch any of the six public television channels controlled by a party allied to Libertas.

And to appeal to younger voters, Polish TV uses the web to push the Libertas platform. In a webcast, Libertas Poland leader Artur Zawisza is shown chatting with a young audience who appear enthusiastic about his reservations concerning the Lisbon Treaty. No critical voices are heard from the audience.

The skewed EU election coverage worries Andrzej Krajewski, a media watcher who recently compiled a report for the Batory Foundation about the way public media in Poland show different political parties.

"I would say that the public media have a cancer. Libertas is being presented in every election report. It is being shown positively, always," Krajewski told Deutsche Welle. "About some other parties they are slightly criticizing, but never about Libertas."

There were many raised eyebrows in Poland when Libertas managed to get former Polish President -- the legendary Lech Walesa on board its campaign.

Recruiting celebrity sponsors

Walesa recently travelled to Italy to take part in a Libertas congress, and then went on to address another of the party’s events. This surprised many, because the former leader of the Solidarity movement had been known as a strong supporter of the country’s European integration. According to Reuters, Walesa conceded that he was paid for his appearances at the party’s events.

In an interview with Reuters, Walesa also admitted that he doesn't share Libertas' views on the Lisbon Treaty.

"Libertas and I both have almost the same diagnosis of the EU's failings, but the remedies we propose are quite different. I want to reform the EU from within. They want to demonstrate from the outside and I don't agree with this," he said

Polish Internet users responded with a mock Libertas ad which sends up the party’s willingness to spend a fortune to rope in celebrities. But although Libertas lags far behind other parties in opinion polls, there are those who wonder how immune Polish viewers are to Libertas' populist message.

There is a precedent for successful populist campaigns. In 2005, two nearly defunct parties won enough votes to join a coalition government. It will be interesting to see whether Libertas now manages to rekindle any of that appetite for populism.

Rafal Kiepuszewski / hf
Editor: Trinity Hartman