Michal Kaminski
Encyclopedia
Michał Tomasz Kamiński (born 28 March 1972) is a Polish politician
and a Member of the European Parliament
for Warsaw
with Poland Comes First
(PJN). He was chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists
in the European Parliament
from July 2009 until March 2011.
Kamiński was a founder member of the Christian National Union (ZChN) in 1989, and served on its board from 1995 to 2001. Kamiński was elected to the Sejm in 1997
for Solidarity Electoral Action
, which included ZChN. In 2001, he joined the Right Alliance (PP), which merged with Law and Justice
(PiS) the following year, having been reelected on the PP-PiS joint ticket
in 2001
.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 2004
, representing Warsaw. He stepped down to become Secretary of State in Chancellery of the President Lech Kaczyński's
. He was returned as an MEP in the 2009 election
, and was elected chairman of the new European Conservatives and Reformists
group. In November 2010, he left PiS to form the more liberal Poland Comes First
(PJN); while remaining in the ECR, he stepped down as chairman in March 2011.
, and then studied International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Warsaw
. He first entered politics as a teenager, joining the National Revival of Poland when he was 15. The present day NOP is considered to be anti-Semitic, though Kamiński has defended his membership of the organisation, arguing that it was a symbol of his opposition to communism and that the party was not anti-Semitic when he was a member. In 1989 he was one of the founding members of the Christian National Union, the youngest founder at 17 years of age. He was a radio and newspaper journalist and radio producer in Bydgoszcz and Łomża. He frequently published in Catholic journals and newspapers and before 1989 his work appeared in the underground press. During the 1995 Polish Presidential election
, he was press spokesman for Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
. Kamiński says he taught himself English by listening to illegal BBC World Service
broadcasts.
(Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność) grouping of parties for the Łomża Voivodeship, and later Podlaskie Voivodeship
.
In 1999, he visited London to present a gorget
embossed with an image of the Virgin Mary to former Chile
an dictator General Augusto Pinochet
along with Marek Jurek
and the journalist Tomasz Wołek. "This was the most important meeting of my whole life. Gen Pinochet was clearly moved and extremely happy with our visit," Kamiński told the BBC's Polish service. In the same year, Kamiński won a journalists' award for being the best speaker in the Sejm. However, he later defended his visit to see General Pinochet, saying "we lived in this country subject to communist propaganda. We had little access to the real information, so for many Poles – not just me – this defence of Pinochet was across centre-right political parties in Poland and other eastern European countries at that time. It was my mistake, I admit it. I think every politician has the right to some mistakes. I made this mistake by just reversing the communist propaganda. It was a mistake that decent people of the left made when they were living under right-wing dictatorships – the kind of mistake where you just reverse the black and white propaganda. Today I know much more about Pinochet and I will never call him a hero again. It’s a question of context".
In July 2000, Kamiński used the word "pedał" (a derogatory Polish word for homosexual, usually translated into English as "fag" or "queer") in a TV interview to refer to gay rights campaigners. When asked by the reporter if such a term is offensive, his reply translates as: "That's how people speak, what should I say? They are fags." In a 2009 interview with Iain Dale he admitted the word was offensive and that he would never use it again. He confirmed he has homosexual friends and stated that he respects "the right [of gay people] to be treated with civility". In the same interview he expressed his pride that Poland was one of the first countries in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality and said that he has nothing against civil partnership legislation and "would consider voting yes" if he was still a member of the Polish Parliament. Also in 2000, he visited his first Conservative Party Conference
, with Czech MEP Jan Zahradil
.
He became a member of the Right Alliance
(Przymierze Prawicy) in 2001, and then joined the new conservative party Law and Justice
(Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) in 2002. Kamiński was re-elected to the Sejm, for its Fourth Term, on 23 September 2001, representing the constituency of Białystok. Law and Justice increased its Parliamentary number from 18 to 45.
He was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In 2001 he was alleged by the Anti-Defamation League
of organising to prevent a commemoration of the WWII murder of Polish Jews by Polish gentiles in the town of Jedwabne
. He has been quoted as saying that no apology should be forthcoming to the Jews of Jedwabne – until Jews had themselves apologised for their part in Soviet atrocities during the Soviet occupation, an idea not uncommon in parts of central and eastern Europe which had been part of the Soviet empire. He said “My position is that there were acts of collaboration of the Jewish people with the Soviet army when the Soviet army came to Poland. It’s a fact. It’s a historical fact… If you are asking the Polish nation to apologise for the crime made in Jedwabne, you would require from the whole Jewish nation to apologise for what some Jewish Communists did in Eastern Poland".
Then-Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
issued an apology for the atrocity, but the issue was hugely divisive. As the deputy in the Sejm responsible for the area, Kamiński expressed his opposition to a generalised apology, arguing that the individuals responsible should instead be singled out as criminals. In an interview with Martin Bright
, political editor of the UK's Jewish Chronicle in 2009, he said “From the very beginning I was saying as a human being, as a Pole, that Jedwabne was a terrible crime, unfortunately committed by the Polish people. My point was from the very start: we are ashamed of these people, we have to condemn them, we have to judge them if they are still alive. But I don’t want to take the whole responsibility for this crime for the whole Polish nation.”
In an interview with political blogger Iain Dale
, he said "if there were any doubts about my past I will give you the ultimate argument. When I became Secretary of State of Poland, I received a top NATO clearance, so it’s not about Polish politics now – it’s about a NATO clearance. I don’t think there can be any doubts about my political views and my past if I can receive a top NATO clearance."
Stephen Pollard
has said "As Editor of the Jewish Chronicle, and founding chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, I am more alive than most to the dangers of the newly resurgent antisemitism. But there is simply no evidence that Mr Kaminski is an antisemite, only a series of politically motivated assertions. It is not Kaminski who is odious; it is those using antisemitism as a tool for their own political ends who deserve contempt".
on 16 June 2004. During his first term in the Parliament, he was a Vice-Chairman of the (now defunct) Union for a Europe of Nations group and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He was a substitute for the Committee on Foreign Affairs
, a vice-chair of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America. He was one of the most active Polish MEPs, and wrote a report examining possible Ukrainian membership of the EU.
Kamiński is considered a key ally of President Lech Kaczyński
, as well as being a modernising, moderating influence on Law and Justice in contrast to other Law and Justice politicians such as leader Jarosław Kaczyński. The BBC
described him as "a 'spin doctor' – media-savvy, smartly dressed with fashionable spectacles, one of the masterminds of conservative President Lech Kaczynski's successful election campaign in 2005
". On 13 July 2007 Kamiński was appointed Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
, responsible for media policy. He vacated his European Parliament seat on 6 August, and was replaced by Ewa Tomaszewska.
, Kamiński demonstrated his admiration for Margaret Thatcher
and Ronald Reagan
:
Group (ECR). In the inaugural session of the 2009–2014 European Parliament session he was the official ECR candidate for one the Vice-President of the European Parliament positions. However he was not elected, largely due to the intervention of the British Conservative
Edward McMillan-Scott
who ran as an independent candidate from the ECR group. McMillan-Scott ran, as he was "unhappy with a lack of debate about [Kamiński]'s candidacy and the controversial new alliance". Kamiński then became the first permanent chairman of the ECR group as a compromise measure, with Timothy Kirkhope
and Geoffrey Van Orden
stepping aside, in order for him to take up the position. He is the first person from Central Europe to lead one of the political groups of the European Parliament. As chairman of the ECR, he is a member of the exclusive Conference of Presidents
.
Due to their close links with the ECR, being founding partners, the British Conservative Party have been associated with Kamiński in his role as chair. Left-wing magazine The New Statesman
reported that the US administration consequently had "concerns about Cameron
among top members of the team", according to quotes from an unnamed Democratic Party
source. The article further quoted David Rothkopf
in saying that the issue "makes [Cameron] an even more dubious choice to be Britain's next prime minister than he was before and, should he attain that post, someone about whom the Obama administration ought to be very cautious." The Jewish Chronicle and the Guardian later also reported statements from an unnamed UK government official that US State Department officials had raised questions of the relationship in a meeting with the Home Office
, a matter that US officials at the State Department denied, saying "No. It was not raised".
The British Conservative Party was also accused of attempting to alter pages on Wikipedia "to airbrush the embarrassing past" by Edward McMillan-Scott
, who also stated that his own article had been edited in this way. An article published in The Observer
newspaper reports edits to the articles made on 25 June 2009 from an IP address originating in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
On 27 January 2011, Kamiński announced that he would resign as chairman of the ECR, citing "aggression" and "hatred" from his former colleagues in Poland's Law and Justice party. His resignation took effect on 8 March, and he was replaced by Jan Zahradil
.
, who also described Kamiński as "the closest thing to a British Tory
outside the Carlton Club
."
Kamiński has spoken of his support for the Treaty of Lisbon
which he believes "guarantees Poland's sovereignty". He has also spoken in favour of the Common Agricultural Policy
. Nevertheless, in his debut speech in the European Parliament as ECR chairman he called on the EU political leaders to respect the Irish "no" vote to the Lisbon Treaty.
.
Michał Tomasz Kamiński (born 28 March 1972) is a Polish politician
and a Member of the European Parliament
for Warsaw
with Poland Comes First
(PJN). He was chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists
in the European Parliament
from July 2009 until March 2011.
Kamiński was a founder member of the Christian National Union (ZChN) in 1989, and served on its board from 1995 to 2001. Kamiński was elected to the Sejm in 1997
for Solidarity Electoral Action
, which included ZChN. In 2001, he joined the Right Alliance (PP), which merged with Law and Justice
(PiS) the following year, having been reelected on the PP-PiS joint ticket
in 2001
.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 2004
, representing Warsaw. He stepped down to become Secretary of State in Chancellery of the President Lech Kaczyński's
. He was returned as an MEP in the 2009 election
, and was elected chairman of the new European Conservatives and Reformists
group. In November 2010, he left PiS to form the more liberal Poland Comes First
(PJN); while remaining in the ECR, he stepped down as chairman in March 2011.
, and then studied International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Warsaw
. He first entered politics as a teenager, joining the National Revival of Poland when he was 15. The present day NOP is considered to be anti-Semitic, though Kamiński has defended his membership of the organisation, arguing that it was a symbol of his opposition to communism and that the party was not anti-Semitic when he was a member. In 1989 he was one of the founding members of the Christian National Union, the youngest founder at 17 years of age. He was a radio and newspaper journalist and radio producer in Bydgoszcz and Łomża. He frequently published in Catholic journals and newspapers and before 1989 his work appeared in the underground press. During the 1995 Polish Presidential election
, he was press spokesman for Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
. Kamiński says he taught himself English by listening to illegal BBC World Service
broadcasts.
(Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność) grouping of parties for the Łomża Voivodeship, and later Podlaskie Voivodeship
.
In 1999, he visited London to present a gorget
embossed with an image of the Virgin Mary to former Chile
an dictator General Augusto Pinochet
along with Marek Jurek
and the journalist Tomasz Wołek. "This was the most important meeting of my whole life. Gen Pinochet was clearly moved and extremely happy with our visit," Kamiński told the BBC's Polish service. In the same year, Kamiński won a journalists' award for being the best speaker in the Sejm. However, he later defended his visit to see General Pinochet, saying "we lived in this country subject to communist propaganda. We had little access to the real information, so for many Poles – not just me – this defence of Pinochet was across centre-right political parties in Poland and other eastern European countries at that time. It was my mistake, I admit it. I think every politician has the right to some mistakes. I made this mistake by just reversing the communist propaganda. It was a mistake that decent people of the left made when they were living under right-wing dictatorships – the kind of mistake where you just reverse the black and white propaganda. Today I know much more about Pinochet and I will never call him a hero again. It’s a question of context".
In July 2000, Kamiński used the word "pedał" (a derogatory Polish word for homosexual, usually translated into English as "fag" or "queer") in a TV interview to refer to gay rights campaigners. When asked by the reporter if such a term is offensive, his reply translates as: "That's how people speak, what should I say? They are fags." In a 2009 interview with Iain Dale he admitted the word was offensive and that he would never use it again. He confirmed he has homosexual friends and stated that he respects "the right [of gay people] to be treated with civility". In the same interview he expressed his pride that Poland was one of the first countries in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality and said that he has nothing against civil partnership legislation and "would consider voting yes" if he was still a member of the Polish Parliament. Also in 2000, he visited his first Conservative Party Conference
, with Czech MEP Jan Zahradil
.
He became a member of the Right Alliance
(Przymierze Prawicy) in 2001, and then joined the new conservative party Law and Justice
(Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) in 2002. Kamiński was re-elected to the Sejm, for its Fourth Term, on 23 September 2001, representing the constituency of Białystok. Law and Justice increased its Parliamentary number from 18 to 45.
He was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In 2001 he was alleged by the Anti-Defamation League
of organising to prevent a commemoration of the WWII murder of Polish Jews by Polish gentiles in the town of Jedwabne
. He has been quoted as saying that no apology should be forthcoming to the Jews of Jedwabne – until Jews had themselves apologised for their part in Soviet atrocities during the Soviet occupation, an idea not uncommon in parts of central and eastern Europe which had been part of the Soviet empire. He said “My position is that there were acts of collaboration of the Jewish people with the Soviet army when the Soviet army came to Poland. It’s a fact. It’s a historical fact… If you are asking the Polish nation to apologise for the crime made in Jedwabne, you would require from the whole Jewish nation to apologise for what some Jewish Communists did in Eastern Poland".
Then-Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
issued an apology for the atrocity, but the issue was hugely divisive. As the deputy in the Sejm responsible for the area, Kamiński expressed his opposition to a generalised apology, arguing that the individuals responsible should instead be singled out as criminals. In an interview with Martin Bright
, political editor of the UK's Jewish Chronicle in 2009, he said “From the very beginning I was saying as a human being, as a Pole, that Jedwabne was a terrible crime, unfortunately committed by the Polish people. My point was from the very start: we are ashamed of these people, we have to condemn them, we have to judge them if they are still alive. But I don’t want to take the whole responsibility for this crime for the whole Polish nation.”
In an interview with political blogger Iain Dale
, he said "if there were any doubts about my past I will give you the ultimate argument. When I became Secretary of State of Poland, I received a top NATO clearance, so it’s not about Polish politics now – it’s about a NATO clearance. I don’t think there can be any doubts about my political views and my past if I can receive a top NATO clearance."
Stephen Pollard
has said "As Editor of the Jewish Chronicle, and founding chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, I am more alive than most to the dangers of the newly resurgent antisemitism. But there is simply no evidence that Mr Kaminski is an antisemite, only a series of politically motivated assertions. It is not Kaminski who is odious; it is those using antisemitism as a tool for their own political ends who deserve contempt".
on 16 June 2004. During his first term in the Parliament, he was a Vice-Chairman of the (now defunct) Union for a Europe of Nations group and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He was a substitute for the Committee on Foreign Affairs
, a vice-chair of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America. He was one of the most active Polish MEPs, and wrote a report examining possible Ukrainian membership of the EU.
Kamiński is considered a key ally of President Lech Kaczyński
, as well as being a modernising, moderating influence on Law and Justice in contrast to other Law and Justice politicians such as leader Jarosław Kaczyński. The BBC
described him as "a 'spin doctor' – media-savvy, smartly dressed with fashionable spectacles, one of the masterminds of conservative President Lech Kaczynski's successful election campaign in 2005
". On 13 July 2007 Kamiński was appointed Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
, responsible for media policy. He vacated his European Parliament seat on 6 August, and was replaced by Ewa Tomaszewska.
, Kamiński demonstrated his admiration for Margaret Thatcher
and Ronald Reagan
:
Group (ECR). In the inaugural session of the 2009–2014 European Parliament session he was the official ECR candidate for one the Vice-President of the European Parliament positions. However he was not elected, largely due to the intervention of the British Conservative
Edward McMillan-Scott
who ran as an independent candidate from the ECR group. McMillan-Scott ran, as he was "unhappy with a lack of debate about [Kamiński]'s candidacy and the controversial new alliance". Kamiński then became the first permanent chairman of the ECR group as a compromise measure, with Timothy Kirkhope
and Geoffrey Van Orden
stepping aside, in order for him to take up the position. He is the first person from Central Europe to lead one of the political groups of the European Parliament. As chairman of the ECR, he is a member of the exclusive Conference of Presidents
.
Due to their close links with the ECR, being founding partners, the British Conservative Party have been associated with Kamiński in his role as chair. Left-wing magazine The New Statesman
reported that the US administration consequently had "concerns about Cameron
among top members of the team", according to quotes from an unnamed Democratic Party
source. The article further quoted David Rothkopf
in saying that the issue "makes [Cameron] an even more dubious choice to be Britain's next prime minister than he was before and, should he attain that post, someone about whom the Obama administration ought to be very cautious." The Jewish Chronicle and the Guardian later also reported statements from an unnamed UK government official that US State Department officials had raised questions of the relationship in a meeting with the Home Office
, a matter that US officials at the State Department denied, saying "No. It was not raised".
The British Conservative Party was also accused of attempting to alter pages on Wikipedia "to airbrush the embarrassing past" by Edward McMillan-Scott
, who also stated that his own article had been edited in this way. An article published in The Observer
newspaper reports edits to the articles made on 25 June 2009 from an IP address originating in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
On 27 January 2011, Kamiński announced that he would resign as chairman of the ECR, citing "aggression" and "hatred" from his former colleagues in Poland's Law and Justice party. His resignation took effect on 8 March, and he was replaced by Jan Zahradil
.
, who also described Kamiński as "the closest thing to a British Tory
outside the Carlton Club
."
Kamiński has spoken of his support for the Treaty of Lisbon
which he believes "guarantees Poland's sovereignty". He has also spoken in favour of the Common Agricultural Policy
. Nevertheless, in his debut speech in the European Parliament as ECR chairman he called on the EU political leaders to respect the Irish "no" vote to the Lisbon Treaty.
.
Michał Tomasz Kamiński (born 28 March 1972) is a Polish politician
and a Member of the European Parliament
for Warsaw
with Poland Comes First
(PJN). He was chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists
in the European Parliament
from July 2009 until March 2011.
Kamiński was a founder member of the Christian National Union (ZChN) in 1989, and served on its board from 1995 to 2001. Kamiński was elected to the Sejm in 1997
for Solidarity Electoral Action
, which included ZChN. In 2001, he joined the Right Alliance (PP), which merged with Law and Justice
(PiS) the following year, having been reelected on the PP-PiS joint ticket
in 2001
.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 2004
, representing Warsaw. He stepped down to become Secretary of State in Chancellery of the President Lech Kaczyński's
. He was returned as an MEP in the 2009 election
, and was elected chairman of the new European Conservatives and Reformists
group. In November 2010, he left PiS to form the more liberal Poland Comes First
(PJN); while remaining in the ECR, he stepped down as chairman in March 2011.
, and then studied International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Warsaw
. He first entered politics as a teenager, joining the National Revival of Poland when he was 15. The present day NOP is considered to be anti-Semitic, though Kamiński has defended his membership of the organisation, arguing that it was a symbol of his opposition to communism and that the party was not anti-Semitic when he was a member. In 1989 he was one of the founding members of the Christian National Union, the youngest founder at 17 years of age. He was a radio and newspaper journalist and radio producer in Bydgoszcz and Łomża. He frequently published in Catholic journals and newspapers and before 1989 his work appeared in the underground press. During the 1995 Polish Presidential election
, he was press spokesman for Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
. Kamiński says he taught himself English by listening to illegal BBC World Service
broadcasts.
(Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność) grouping of parties for the Łomża Voivodeship, and later Podlaskie Voivodeship
.
In 1999, he visited London to present a gorget
embossed with an image of the Virgin Mary to former Chile
an dictator General Augusto Pinochet
along with Marek Jurek
and the journalist Tomasz Wołek. "This was the most important meeting of my whole life. Gen Pinochet was clearly moved and extremely happy with our visit," Kamiński told the BBC's Polish service. In the same year, Kamiński won a journalists' award for being the best speaker in the Sejm. However, he later defended his visit to see General Pinochet, saying "we lived in this country subject to communist propaganda. We had little access to the real information, so for many Poles – not just me – this defence of Pinochet was across centre-right political parties in Poland and other eastern European countries at that time. It was my mistake, I admit it. I think every politician has the right to some mistakes. I made this mistake by just reversing the communist propaganda. It was a mistake that decent people of the left made when they were living under right-wing dictatorships – the kind of mistake where you just reverse the black and white propaganda. Today I know much more about Pinochet and I will never call him a hero again. It’s a question of context".
In July 2000, Kamiński used the word "pedał" (a derogatory Polish word for homosexual, usually translated into English as "fag" or "queer") in a TV interview to refer to gay rights campaigners. When asked by the reporter if such a term is offensive, his reply translates as: "That's how people speak, what should I say? They are fags." In a 2009 interview with Iain Dale he admitted the word was offensive and that he would never use it again. He confirmed he has homosexual friends and stated that he respects "the right [of gay people] to be treated with civility". In the same interview he expressed his pride that Poland was one of the first countries in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality and said that he has nothing against civil partnership legislation and "would consider voting yes" if he was still a member of the Polish Parliament. Also in 2000, he visited his first Conservative Party Conference
, with Czech MEP Jan Zahradil
.
He became a member of the Right Alliance
(Przymierze Prawicy) in 2001, and then joined the new conservative party Law and Justice
(Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) in 2002. Kamiński was re-elected to the Sejm, for its Fourth Term, on 23 September 2001, representing the constituency of Białystok. Law and Justice increased its Parliamentary number from 18 to 45.
He was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In 2001 he was alleged by the Anti-Defamation League
of organising to prevent a commemoration of the WWII murder of Polish Jews by Polish gentiles in the town of Jedwabne
. He has been quoted as saying that no apology should be forthcoming to the Jews of Jedwabne – until Jews had themselves apologised for their part in Soviet atrocities during the Soviet occupation, an idea not uncommon in parts of central and eastern Europe which had been part of the Soviet empire. He said “My position is that there were acts of collaboration of the Jewish people with the Soviet army when the Soviet army came to Poland. It’s a fact. It’s a historical fact… If you are asking the Polish nation to apologise for the crime made in Jedwabne, you would require from the whole Jewish nation to apologise for what some Jewish Communists did in Eastern Poland".
Then-Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
issued an apology for the atrocity, but the issue was hugely divisive. As the deputy in the Sejm responsible for the area, Kamiński expressed his opposition to a generalised apology, arguing that the individuals responsible should instead be singled out as criminals. In an interview with Martin Bright
, political editor of the UK's Jewish Chronicle in 2009, he said “From the very beginning I was saying as a human being, as a Pole, that Jedwabne was a terrible crime, unfortunately committed by the Polish people. My point was from the very start: we are ashamed of these people, we have to condemn them, we have to judge them if they are still alive. But I don’t want to take the whole responsibility for this crime for the whole Polish nation.”
In an interview with political blogger Iain Dale
, he said "if there were any doubts about my past I will give you the ultimate argument. When I became Secretary of State of Poland, I received a top NATO clearance, so it’s not about Polish politics now – it’s about a NATO clearance. I don’t think there can be any doubts about my political views and my past if I can receive a top NATO clearance."
Stephen Pollard
has said "As Editor of the Jewish Chronicle, and founding chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, I am more alive than most to the dangers of the newly resurgent antisemitism. But there is simply no evidence that Mr Kaminski is an antisemite, only a series of politically motivated assertions. It is not Kaminski who is odious; it is those using antisemitism as a tool for their own political ends who deserve contempt".
on 16 June 2004. During his first term in the Parliament, he was a Vice-Chairman of the (now defunct) Union for a Europe of Nations group and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He was a substitute for the Committee on Foreign Affairs
, a vice-chair of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America. He was one of the most active Polish MEPs, and wrote a report examining possible Ukrainian membership of the EU.
Kamiński is considered a key ally of President Lech Kaczyński
, as well as being a modernising, moderating influence on Law and Justice in contrast to other Law and Justice politicians such as leader Jarosław Kaczyński. The BBC
described him as "a 'spin doctor' – media-savvy, smartly dressed with fashionable spectacles, one of the masterminds of conservative President Lech Kaczynski's successful election campaign in 2005
". On 13 July 2007 Kamiński was appointed Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
, responsible for media policy. He vacated his European Parliament seat on 6 August, and was replaced by Ewa Tomaszewska.
, Kamiński demonstrated his admiration for Margaret Thatcher
and Ronald Reagan
:
Group (ECR). In the inaugural session of the 2009–2014 European Parliament session he was the official ECR candidate for one the Vice-President of the European Parliament positions. However he was not elected, largely due to the intervention of the British Conservative
Edward McMillan-Scott
who ran as an independent candidate from the ECR group. McMillan-Scott ran, as he was "unhappy with a lack of debate about [Kamiński]'s candidacy and the controversial new alliance". Kamiński then became the first permanent chairman of the ECR group as a compromise measure, with Timothy Kirkhope
and Geoffrey Van Orden
stepping aside, in order for him to take up the position. He is the first person from Central Europe to lead one of the political groups of the European Parliament. As chairman of the ECR, he is a member of the exclusive Conference of Presidents
.
Due to their close links with the ECR, being founding partners, the British Conservative Party have been associated with Kamiński in his role as chair. Left-wing magazine The New Statesman
reported that the US administration consequently had "concerns about Cameron
among top members of the team", according to quotes from an unnamed Democratic Party
source. The article further quoted David Rothkopf
in saying that the issue "makes [Cameron] an even more dubious choice to be Britain's next prime minister than he was before and, should he attain that post, someone about whom the Obama administration ought to be very cautious." The Jewish Chronicle and the Guardian later also reported statements from an unnamed UK government official that US State Department officials had raised questions of the relationship in a meeting with the Home Office
, a matter that US officials at the State Department denied, saying "No. It was not raised".
The British Conservative Party was also accused of attempting to alter pages on Wikipedia "to airbrush the embarrassing past" by Edward McMillan-Scott
, who also stated that his own article had been edited in this way. An article published in The Observer
newspaper reports edits to the articles made on 25 June 2009 from an IP address originating in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
On 27 January 2011, Kamiński announced that he would resign as chairman of the ECR, citing "aggression" and "hatred" from his former colleagues in Poland's Law and Justice party. His resignation took effect on 8 March, and he was replaced by Jan Zahradil
.
, who also described Kamiński as "the closest thing to a British Tory
outside the Carlton Club
."
Kamiński has spoken of his support for the Treaty of Lisbon
which he believes "guarantees Poland's sovereignty". He has also spoken in favour of the Common Agricultural Policy
. Nevertheless, in his debut speech in the European Parliament as ECR chairman he called on the EU political leaders to respect the Irish "no" vote to the Lisbon Treaty.
.
Politics of Poland
The politics of Poland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government of a multi-party system and the President is the head of state....
and a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for Warsaw
Warsaw (European Parliament constituency)
In European elections, Warsaw is a constituency of the European Parliament. It consists of the counties of Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Legionowo, Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Otwock, Piaseczno, Pruszków, Warsaw West, Wołomin and city of Warsaw.- Nomenclature :...
with Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First , also rendered as Poland is the Most Important, and abbreviated to PJN, is a centre-right, conservative liberal, political party in Poland. It was formed as a breakaway group from Law and Justice...
(PJN). He was chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
from July 2009 until March 2011.
Kamiński was a founder member of the Christian National Union (ZChN) in 1989, and served on its board from 1995 to 2001. Kamiński was elected to the Sejm in 1997
Polish parliamentary election, 1997
The Polish parliamentary election in 1997 to the Sejm and Senate of Poland was held on the 21 September. In the Sejm elections, 47.93% of citizens cast their votes, 96.12% of which were counted as valid...
for Solidarity Electoral Action
Solidarity Electoral Action
Solidarity Electoral Action was a political party coalition in Poland. Since 1997 its official name has been Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy or Solidarity Electoral Action of the Right...
, which included ZChN. In 2001, he joined the Right Alliance (PP), which merged with Law and Justice
Law and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
(PiS) the following year, having been reelected on the PP-PiS joint ticket
Electoral alliance
An electoral alliance may take the form of a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc. It is an association of political parties or individuals which exists solely to stand in elections...
in 2001
Polish parliamentary election, 2001
Polish parliamentary election in 2001 to Sejm and Senate of Poland were held on the 23rd September. In Sejm elections, 46.29% of citizens cast their votes, 96.01% of those were counted as valid...
.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 2004
European Parliament election, 2004 (Poland)
Elections to the European Parliament were held in Poland on 13 June 2004. 20.87% of eligible citizens voted; of these, 97.33% of the votes cast were valid. The elections resulted in a heavy defeat for the governing Alliance of the Democratic Left and Labor Union parties, although the very low...
, representing Warsaw. He stepped down to become Secretary of State in Chancellery of the President Lech Kaczyński's
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
. He was returned as an MEP in the 2009 election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Poland)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Poland was the election of the delegation from Poland to the European Parliament in 2009 which took place on 7 June 2009. On 13 February the Sejm accepted a proposal for an amendment to the electoral court act to allow voting for the European Parliament...
, and was elected chairman of the new European Conservatives and Reformists
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
group. In November 2010, he left PiS to form the more liberal Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First , also rendered as Poland is the Most Important, and abbreviated to PJN, is a centre-right, conservative liberal, political party in Poland. It was formed as a breakaway group from Law and Justice...
(PJN); while remaining in the ECR, he stepped down as chairman in March 2011.
Early life
Kamiński attended XLIX Liceum Ogólnokształcące in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, and then studied International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
. He first entered politics as a teenager, joining the National Revival of Poland when he was 15. The present day NOP is considered to be anti-Semitic, though Kamiński has defended his membership of the organisation, arguing that it was a symbol of his opposition to communism and that the party was not anti-Semitic when he was a member. In 1989 he was one of the founding members of the Christian National Union, the youngest founder at 17 years of age. He was a radio and newspaper journalist and radio producer in Bydgoszcz and Łomża. He frequently published in Catholic journals and newspapers and before 1989 his work appeared in the underground press. During the 1995 Polish Presidential election
Polish presidential election, 1995
1995 Presidential elections were held in Poland on Sunday November 5 , and Sunday November 19 . Aleksander Kwaśniewski and Lech Wałęsa passed to the second round...
, he was press spokesman for Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz-Waltz is a Polish liberal-conservative politician who has been the Mayor of Warsaw since 2 December 2006. She is the first woman to ever hold this position....
. Kamiński says he taught himself English by listening to illegal BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
broadcasts.
Domestic career
He was elected to the Third Sejm on 21 September 1997 as part of the Solidarity Electoral ActionSolidarity Electoral Action
Solidarity Electoral Action was a political party coalition in Poland. Since 1997 its official name has been Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy or Solidarity Electoral Action of the Right...
(Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność) grouping of parties for the Łomża Voivodeship, and later Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
.
In 1999, he visited London to present a gorget
Gorget
A gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons...
embossed with an image of the Virgin Mary to former Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an dictator General Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
along with Marek Jurek
Marek Jurek
Marek Jurek is a Polish right-wing politician, who does not have a parliamentary seat. Since 20 April 2007 he has been the leader of the aspirant party Right of the Republic, which does not have any MPs....
and the journalist Tomasz Wołek. "This was the most important meeting of my whole life. Gen Pinochet was clearly moved and extremely happy with our visit," Kamiński told the BBC's Polish service. In the same year, Kamiński won a journalists' award for being the best speaker in the Sejm. However, he later defended his visit to see General Pinochet, saying "we lived in this country subject to communist propaganda. We had little access to the real information, so for many Poles – not just me – this defence of Pinochet was across centre-right political parties in Poland and other eastern European countries at that time. It was my mistake, I admit it. I think every politician has the right to some mistakes. I made this mistake by just reversing the communist propaganda. It was a mistake that decent people of the left made when they were living under right-wing dictatorships – the kind of mistake where you just reverse the black and white propaganda. Today I know much more about Pinochet and I will never call him a hero again. It’s a question of context".
In July 2000, Kamiński used the word "pedał" (a derogatory Polish word for homosexual, usually translated into English as "fag" or "queer") in a TV interview to refer to gay rights campaigners. When asked by the reporter if such a term is offensive, his reply translates as: "That's how people speak, what should I say? They are fags." In a 2009 interview with Iain Dale he admitted the word was offensive and that he would never use it again. He confirmed he has homosexual friends and stated that he respects "the right [of gay people] to be treated with civility". In the same interview he expressed his pride that Poland was one of the first countries in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality and said that he has nothing against civil partnership legislation and "would consider voting yes" if he was still a member of the Polish Parliament. Also in 2000, he visited his first Conservative Party Conference
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, with Czech MEP Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil is a Czech politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Civic Democratic Party . He is the Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, a position that he's held since 8 March 2011.A scientific researcher by profession, Zahradil...
.
He became a member of the Right Alliance
Przymierze Prawicy
The Right Alliance was a centre-right conservative political party in Poland from 2001 to 2002.The party was formed on 26 March 2001 from part of Solidarity Electoral Action. It formed an electoral alliance with Law and Justice in the election in September 2001 to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland...
(Przymierze Prawicy) in 2001, and then joined the new conservative party Law and Justice
Law and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
(Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) in 2002. Kamiński was re-elected to the Sejm, for its Fourth Term, on 23 September 2001, representing the constituency of Białystok. Law and Justice increased its Parliamentary number from 18 to 45.
He was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In 2001 he was alleged by the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
of organising to prevent a commemoration of the WWII murder of Polish Jews by Polish gentiles in the town of Jedwabne
Jedwabne
Jedwabne is a town in Poland, in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, in Łomża County, with 1,942 inhabitants .- History :First mentioned in 1455, Jedwabne received city rights on July 17, 1736, from the Polish king August III, including the right to hold weekly markets on Sundays and five country fairs a...
. He has been quoted as saying that no apology should be forthcoming to the Jews of Jedwabne – until Jews had themselves apologised for their part in Soviet atrocities during the Soviet occupation, an idea not uncommon in parts of central and eastern Europe which had been part of the Soviet empire. He said “My position is that there were acts of collaboration of the Jewish people with the Soviet army when the Soviet army came to Poland. It’s a fact. It’s a historical fact… If you are asking the Polish nation to apologise for the crime made in Jedwabne, you would require from the whole Jewish nation to apologise for what some Jewish Communists did in Eastern Poland".
Then-Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
issued an apology for the atrocity, but the issue was hugely divisive. As the deputy in the Sejm responsible for the area, Kamiński expressed his opposition to a generalised apology, arguing that the individuals responsible should instead be singled out as criminals. In an interview with Martin Bright
Martin Bright
Martin Bright is a British journalist. He worked for the BBC World Service and The Guardian before becoming The Observer's education correspondent and then home affairs editor...
, political editor of the UK's Jewish Chronicle in 2009, he said “From the very beginning I was saying as a human being, as a Pole, that Jedwabne was a terrible crime, unfortunately committed by the Polish people. My point was from the very start: we are ashamed of these people, we have to condemn them, we have to judge them if they are still alive. But I don’t want to take the whole responsibility for this crime for the whole Polish nation.”
In an interview with political blogger Iain Dale
Iain Dale
Iain Campbell Dale is best known for his conservative-minded British political blog Iain Dale's Diary and for his frequent appearances on UK news channels as a political commentator. He is also a publisher, broadcaster and former Conservative Party politician...
, he said "if there were any doubts about my past I will give you the ultimate argument. When I became Secretary of State of Poland, I received a top NATO clearance, so it’s not about Polish politics now – it’s about a NATO clearance. I don’t think there can be any doubts about my political views and my past if I can receive a top NATO clearance."
Stephen Pollard
Stephen Pollard
Stephen Pollard is a British author and journalist, currently editor of The Jewish Chronicle. He is a former Chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and a former president of the Centre for the New Europe, a free-market think tank based in Brussels...
has said "As Editor of the Jewish Chronicle, and founding chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, I am more alive than most to the dangers of the newly resurgent antisemitism. But there is simply no evidence that Mr Kaminski is an antisemite, only a series of politically motivated assertions. It is not Kaminski who is odious; it is those using antisemitism as a tool for their own political ends who deserve contempt".
Election
Kamiński was first elected to the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
on 16 June 2004. During his first term in the Parliament, he was a Vice-Chairman of the (now defunct) Union for a Europe of Nations group and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He was a substitute for the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Foreign Affairs (EU)
The Committee on Foreign Affairs , previously called Political Affairs, is a committee of the European Parliament...
, a vice-chair of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states that have signed the Cotonou Agreement.Since the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union...
and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America. He was one of the most active Polish MEPs, and wrote a report examining possible Ukrainian membership of the EU.
Kamiński is considered a key ally of President Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
, as well as being a modernising, moderating influence on Law and Justice in contrast to other Law and Justice politicians such as leader Jarosław Kaczyński. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
described him as "a 'spin doctor' – media-savvy, smartly dressed with fashionable spectacles, one of the masterminds of conservative President Lech Kaczynski's successful election campaign in 2005
Polish presidential election, 2005
-External links:**] ]**...
". On 13 July 2007 Kamiński was appointed Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
The Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland , established in 1989, is an institution working for and under the Polish president. This is an equivalent of such institutions as the Executive Chancellery of the President of the United States, and consists of the immediate staff of the...
, responsible for media policy. He vacated his European Parliament seat on 6 August, and was replaced by Ewa Tomaszewska.
Maiden speech
In his maiden speechMaiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
, Kamiński demonstrated his admiration for Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
:
European Conservatives and Reformists Group
He was re-elected as an MEP for Warsaw in 2009, now sitting in the new European Conservatives and ReformistsEuropean Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
Group (ECR). In the inaugural session of the 2009–2014 European Parliament session he was the official ECR candidate for one the Vice-President of the European Parliament positions. However he was not elected, largely due to the intervention of the British Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward Hugh Christian McMillan-Scott is a British Member of the European Parliament and one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament...
who ran as an independent candidate from the ECR group. McMillan-Scott ran, as he was "unhappy with a lack of debate about [Kamiński]'s candidacy and the controversial new alliance". Kamiński then became the first permanent chairman of the ECR group as a compromise measure, with Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy John Robert Kirkhope is a British lawyer and politician, currently serving as Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After serving for ten years as Member of Parliament for Leeds North East, he was first elected to the European Parliament...
and Geoffrey Van Orden
Geoffrey van Orden
Geoffrey Charles Van Orden MBE is a British politician and former soldier. He is currently Member of the European Parliament for the East of England region for the Conservative Party. He was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999....
stepping aside, in order for him to take up the position. He is the first person from Central Europe to lead one of the political groups of the European Parliament. As chairman of the ECR, he is a member of the exclusive Conference of Presidents
Conference of Presidents
In the European Union, the Conference of Presidents is a governing body of the European Parliament. The body is responsible for the organisation of Parliament, its administrative matters and agenda....
.
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
reported that the US administration consequently had "concerns about Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
among top members of the team", according to quotes from an unnamed Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
source. The article further quoted David Rothkopf
David Rothkopf
David J. Rothkopf is President and CEO of Garten Rothkopf, an international advisory firm specializing in transformational global trends, notably those associated with energy, security, and emerging markets....
in saying that the issue "makes [Cameron] an even more dubious choice to be Britain's next prime minister than he was before and, should he attain that post, someone about whom the Obama administration ought to be very cautious." The Jewish Chronicle and the Guardian later also reported statements from an unnamed UK government official that US State Department officials had raised questions of the relationship in a meeting with the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, a matter that US officials at the State Department denied, saying "No. It was not raised".
The British Conservative Party was also accused of attempting to alter pages on Wikipedia "to airbrush the embarrassing past" by Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward Hugh Christian McMillan-Scott is a British Member of the European Parliament and one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament...
, who also stated that his own article had been edited in this way. An article published in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper reports edits to the articles made on 25 June 2009 from an IP address originating in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
On 27 January 2011, Kamiński announced that he would resign as chairman of the ECR, citing "aggression" and "hatred" from his former colleagues in Poland's Law and Justice party. His resignation took effect on 8 March, and he was replaced by Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil is a Czech politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Civic Democratic Party . He is the Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, a position that he's held since 8 March 2011.A scientific researcher by profession, Zahradil...
.
Political views
His views are described as "Euro-sceptic, free-market and Atlanticist" by Daniel Hannan MEPDaniel Hannan
Daniel John Hannan is a British journalist, author and politician who is currently a Member of the European Parliament, representing South East England for the Conservative Party and the European Conservatives and Reformists political group...
, who also described Kamiński as "the closest thing to a British Tory
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
outside the Carlton Club
Carlton Club
The Carlton Club is a gentlemen's club in London which describes itself as the "oldest, most elite, and most important of all Conservative clubs." Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.-History:...
."
Kamiński has spoken of his support for the Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
which he believes "guarantees Poland's sovereignty". He has also spoken in favour of the Common Agricultural Policy
Common Agricultural Policy
The Common Agricultural Policy is a system of European Union agricultural subsidies and programmes. It represents 48% of the EU's budget, €49.8 billion in 2006 ....
. Nevertheless, in his debut speech in the European Parliament as ECR chairman he called on the EU political leaders to respect the Irish "no" vote to the Lisbon Treaty.
Personal life
In his private life, Kamiński's passions include books, foreign languages as well as football. He lives in the Warsaw neighbourhood of WawerWawer
Wawer is one of the districts of Warsaw, located in the south-eastern part of the city. The Vistula river runs along its western border. Wawer became a district of Warsaw on October 27, 2002 .Wawer borders Praga Południe and Rembertów from the north, Wesoła from the east and Wilanów with Mokotów...
.
Honours
- The President of Lithuania's Order of Merit of the Republic of LithuaniaOrder for Merits to LithuaniaThe Order for Merits to Lithuania is an award, presented by the President of Lithuania, which may be conferred on the citizens of Lithuania and foreign nationals for distinguished services promoting name of Lithuania, expanding a develop international relationships, for distinguished merits in...
- Order of Yaroslav the Wise (Ukraine)
- Order of Infant Henry with Grand Ribbon (Portugal)
External links
Michał Kamiński official websiteMichał Tomasz Kamiński (born 28 March 1972) is a Polish politician
Politics of Poland
The politics of Poland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government of a multi-party system and the President is the head of state....
and a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for Warsaw
Warsaw (European Parliament constituency)
In European elections, Warsaw is a constituency of the European Parliament. It consists of the counties of Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Legionowo, Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Otwock, Piaseczno, Pruszków, Warsaw West, Wołomin and city of Warsaw.- Nomenclature :...
with Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First , also rendered as Poland is the Most Important, and abbreviated to PJN, is a centre-right, conservative liberal, political party in Poland. It was formed as a breakaway group from Law and Justice...
(PJN). He was chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
from July 2009 until March 2011.
Kamiński was a founder member of the Christian National Union (ZChN) in 1989, and served on its board from 1995 to 2001. Kamiński was elected to the Sejm in 1997
Polish parliamentary election, 1997
The Polish parliamentary election in 1997 to the Sejm and Senate of Poland was held on the 21 September. In the Sejm elections, 47.93% of citizens cast their votes, 96.12% of which were counted as valid...
for Solidarity Electoral Action
Solidarity Electoral Action
Solidarity Electoral Action was a political party coalition in Poland. Since 1997 its official name has been Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy or Solidarity Electoral Action of the Right...
, which included ZChN. In 2001, he joined the Right Alliance (PP), which merged with Law and Justice
Law and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
(PiS) the following year, having been reelected on the PP-PiS joint ticket
Electoral alliance
An electoral alliance may take the form of a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc. It is an association of political parties or individuals which exists solely to stand in elections...
in 2001
Polish parliamentary election, 2001
Polish parliamentary election in 2001 to Sejm and Senate of Poland were held on the 23rd September. In Sejm elections, 46.29% of citizens cast their votes, 96.01% of those were counted as valid...
.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 2004
European Parliament election, 2004 (Poland)
Elections to the European Parliament were held in Poland on 13 June 2004. 20.87% of eligible citizens voted; of these, 97.33% of the votes cast were valid. The elections resulted in a heavy defeat for the governing Alliance of the Democratic Left and Labor Union parties, although the very low...
, representing Warsaw. He stepped down to become Secretary of State in Chancellery of the President Lech Kaczyński's
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
. He was returned as an MEP in the 2009 election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Poland)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Poland was the election of the delegation from Poland to the European Parliament in 2009 which took place on 7 June 2009. On 13 February the Sejm accepted a proposal for an amendment to the electoral court act to allow voting for the European Parliament...
, and was elected chairman of the new European Conservatives and Reformists
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
group. In November 2010, he left PiS to form the more liberal Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First , also rendered as Poland is the Most Important, and abbreviated to PJN, is a centre-right, conservative liberal, political party in Poland. It was formed as a breakaway group from Law and Justice...
(PJN); while remaining in the ECR, he stepped down as chairman in March 2011.
Early life
Kamiński attended XLIX Liceum Ogólnokształcące in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, and then studied International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
. He first entered politics as a teenager, joining the National Revival of Poland when he was 15. The present day NOP is considered to be anti-Semitic, though Kamiński has defended his membership of the organisation, arguing that it was a symbol of his opposition to communism and that the party was not anti-Semitic when he was a member. In 1989 he was one of the founding members of the Christian National Union, the youngest founder at 17 years of age. He was a radio and newspaper journalist and radio producer in Bydgoszcz and Łomża. He frequently published in Catholic journals and newspapers and before 1989 his work appeared in the underground press. During the 1995 Polish Presidential election
Polish presidential election, 1995
1995 Presidential elections were held in Poland on Sunday November 5 , and Sunday November 19 . Aleksander Kwaśniewski and Lech Wałęsa passed to the second round...
, he was press spokesman for Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz-Waltz is a Polish liberal-conservative politician who has been the Mayor of Warsaw since 2 December 2006. She is the first woman to ever hold this position....
. Kamiński says he taught himself English by listening to illegal BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
broadcasts.
Domestic career
He was elected to the Third Sejm on 21 September 1997 as part of the Solidarity Electoral ActionSolidarity Electoral Action
Solidarity Electoral Action was a political party coalition in Poland. Since 1997 its official name has been Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy or Solidarity Electoral Action of the Right...
(Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność) grouping of parties for the Łomża Voivodeship, and later Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
.
In 1999, he visited London to present a gorget
Gorget
A gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons...
embossed with an image of the Virgin Mary to former Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an dictator General Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
along with Marek Jurek
Marek Jurek
Marek Jurek is a Polish right-wing politician, who does not have a parliamentary seat. Since 20 April 2007 he has been the leader of the aspirant party Right of the Republic, which does not have any MPs....
and the journalist Tomasz Wołek. "This was the most important meeting of my whole life. Gen Pinochet was clearly moved and extremely happy with our visit," Kamiński told the BBC's Polish service. In the same year, Kamiński won a journalists' award for being the best speaker in the Sejm. However, he later defended his visit to see General Pinochet, saying "we lived in this country subject to communist propaganda. We had little access to the real information, so for many Poles – not just me – this defence of Pinochet was across centre-right political parties in Poland and other eastern European countries at that time. It was my mistake, I admit it. I think every politician has the right to some mistakes. I made this mistake by just reversing the communist propaganda. It was a mistake that decent people of the left made when they were living under right-wing dictatorships – the kind of mistake where you just reverse the black and white propaganda. Today I know much more about Pinochet and I will never call him a hero again. It’s a question of context".
In July 2000, Kamiński used the word "pedał" (a derogatory Polish word for homosexual, usually translated into English as "fag" or "queer") in a TV interview to refer to gay rights campaigners. When asked by the reporter if such a term is offensive, his reply translates as: "That's how people speak, what should I say? They are fags." In a 2009 interview with Iain Dale he admitted the word was offensive and that he would never use it again. He confirmed he has homosexual friends and stated that he respects "the right [of gay people] to be treated with civility". In the same interview he expressed his pride that Poland was one of the first countries in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality and said that he has nothing against civil partnership legislation and "would consider voting yes" if he was still a member of the Polish Parliament. Also in 2000, he visited his first Conservative Party Conference
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, with Czech MEP Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil is a Czech politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Civic Democratic Party . He is the Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, a position that he's held since 8 March 2011.A scientific researcher by profession, Zahradil...
.
He became a member of the Right Alliance
Przymierze Prawicy
The Right Alliance was a centre-right conservative political party in Poland from 2001 to 2002.The party was formed on 26 March 2001 from part of Solidarity Electoral Action. It formed an electoral alliance with Law and Justice in the election in September 2001 to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland...
(Przymierze Prawicy) in 2001, and then joined the new conservative party Law and Justice
Law and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
(Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) in 2002. Kamiński was re-elected to the Sejm, for its Fourth Term, on 23 September 2001, representing the constituency of Białystok. Law and Justice increased its Parliamentary number from 18 to 45.
He was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In 2001 he was alleged by the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
of organising to prevent a commemoration of the WWII murder of Polish Jews by Polish gentiles in the town of Jedwabne
Jedwabne
Jedwabne is a town in Poland, in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, in Łomża County, with 1,942 inhabitants .- History :First mentioned in 1455, Jedwabne received city rights on July 17, 1736, from the Polish king August III, including the right to hold weekly markets on Sundays and five country fairs a...
. He has been quoted as saying that no apology should be forthcoming to the Jews of Jedwabne – until Jews had themselves apologised for their part in Soviet atrocities during the Soviet occupation, an idea not uncommon in parts of central and eastern Europe which had been part of the Soviet empire. He said “My position is that there were acts of collaboration of the Jewish people with the Soviet army when the Soviet army came to Poland. It’s a fact. It’s a historical fact… If you are asking the Polish nation to apologise for the crime made in Jedwabne, you would require from the whole Jewish nation to apologise for what some Jewish Communists did in Eastern Poland".
Then-Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
issued an apology for the atrocity, but the issue was hugely divisive. As the deputy in the Sejm responsible for the area, Kamiński expressed his opposition to a generalised apology, arguing that the individuals responsible should instead be singled out as criminals. In an interview with Martin Bright
Martin Bright
Martin Bright is a British journalist. He worked for the BBC World Service and The Guardian before becoming The Observer's education correspondent and then home affairs editor...
, political editor of the UK's Jewish Chronicle in 2009, he said “From the very beginning I was saying as a human being, as a Pole, that Jedwabne was a terrible crime, unfortunately committed by the Polish people. My point was from the very start: we are ashamed of these people, we have to condemn them, we have to judge them if they are still alive. But I don’t want to take the whole responsibility for this crime for the whole Polish nation.”
In an interview with political blogger Iain Dale
Iain Dale
Iain Campbell Dale is best known for his conservative-minded British political blog Iain Dale's Diary and for his frequent appearances on UK news channels as a political commentator. He is also a publisher, broadcaster and former Conservative Party politician...
, he said "if there were any doubts about my past I will give you the ultimate argument. When I became Secretary of State of Poland, I received a top NATO clearance, so it’s not about Polish politics now – it’s about a NATO clearance. I don’t think there can be any doubts about my political views and my past if I can receive a top NATO clearance."
Stephen Pollard
Stephen Pollard
Stephen Pollard is a British author and journalist, currently editor of The Jewish Chronicle. He is a former Chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and a former president of the Centre for the New Europe, a free-market think tank based in Brussels...
has said "As Editor of the Jewish Chronicle, and founding chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, I am more alive than most to the dangers of the newly resurgent antisemitism. But there is simply no evidence that Mr Kaminski is an antisemite, only a series of politically motivated assertions. It is not Kaminski who is odious; it is those using antisemitism as a tool for their own political ends who deserve contempt".
Election
Kamiński was first elected to the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
on 16 June 2004. During his first term in the Parliament, he was a Vice-Chairman of the (now defunct) Union for a Europe of Nations group and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He was a substitute for the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Foreign Affairs (EU)
The Committee on Foreign Affairs , previously called Political Affairs, is a committee of the European Parliament...
, a vice-chair of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states that have signed the Cotonou Agreement.Since the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union...
and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America. He was one of the most active Polish MEPs, and wrote a report examining possible Ukrainian membership of the EU.
Kamiński is considered a key ally of President Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
, as well as being a modernising, moderating influence on Law and Justice in contrast to other Law and Justice politicians such as leader Jarosław Kaczyński. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
described him as "a 'spin doctor' – media-savvy, smartly dressed with fashionable spectacles, one of the masterminds of conservative President Lech Kaczynski's successful election campaign in 2005
Polish presidential election, 2005
-External links:**] ]**...
". On 13 July 2007 Kamiński was appointed Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
The Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland , established in 1989, is an institution working for and under the Polish president. This is an equivalent of such institutions as the Executive Chancellery of the President of the United States, and consists of the immediate staff of the...
, responsible for media policy. He vacated his European Parliament seat on 6 August, and was replaced by Ewa Tomaszewska.
Maiden speech
In his maiden speechMaiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
, Kamiński demonstrated his admiration for Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
:
European Conservatives and Reformists Group
He was re-elected as an MEP for Warsaw in 2009, now sitting in the new European Conservatives and ReformistsEuropean Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
Group (ECR). In the inaugural session of the 2009–2014 European Parliament session he was the official ECR candidate for one the Vice-President of the European Parliament positions. However he was not elected, largely due to the intervention of the British Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward Hugh Christian McMillan-Scott is a British Member of the European Parliament and one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament...
who ran as an independent candidate from the ECR group. McMillan-Scott ran, as he was "unhappy with a lack of debate about [Kamiński]'s candidacy and the controversial new alliance". Kamiński then became the first permanent chairman of the ECR group as a compromise measure, with Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy John Robert Kirkhope is a British lawyer and politician, currently serving as Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After serving for ten years as Member of Parliament for Leeds North East, he was first elected to the European Parliament...
and Geoffrey Van Orden
Geoffrey van Orden
Geoffrey Charles Van Orden MBE is a British politician and former soldier. He is currently Member of the European Parliament for the East of England region for the Conservative Party. He was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999....
stepping aside, in order for him to take up the position. He is the first person from Central Europe to lead one of the political groups of the European Parliament. As chairman of the ECR, he is a member of the exclusive Conference of Presidents
Conference of Presidents
In the European Union, the Conference of Presidents is a governing body of the European Parliament. The body is responsible for the organisation of Parliament, its administrative matters and agenda....
.
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
reported that the US administration consequently had "concerns about Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
among top members of the team", according to quotes from an unnamed Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
source. The article further quoted David Rothkopf
David Rothkopf
David J. Rothkopf is President and CEO of Garten Rothkopf, an international advisory firm specializing in transformational global trends, notably those associated with energy, security, and emerging markets....
in saying that the issue "makes [Cameron] an even more dubious choice to be Britain's next prime minister than he was before and, should he attain that post, someone about whom the Obama administration ought to be very cautious." The Jewish Chronicle and the Guardian later also reported statements from an unnamed UK government official that US State Department officials had raised questions of the relationship in a meeting with the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, a matter that US officials at the State Department denied, saying "No. It was not raised".
The British Conservative Party was also accused of attempting to alter pages on Wikipedia "to airbrush the embarrassing past" by Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward Hugh Christian McMillan-Scott is a British Member of the European Parliament and one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament...
, who also stated that his own article had been edited in this way. An article published in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper reports edits to the articles made on 25 June 2009 from an IP address originating in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
On 27 January 2011, Kamiński announced that he would resign as chairman of the ECR, citing "aggression" and "hatred" from his former colleagues in Poland's Law and Justice party. His resignation took effect on 8 March, and he was replaced by Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil is a Czech politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Civic Democratic Party . He is the Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, a position that he's held since 8 March 2011.A scientific researcher by profession, Zahradil...
.
Political views
His views are described as "Euro-sceptic, free-market and Atlanticist" by Daniel Hannan MEPDaniel Hannan
Daniel John Hannan is a British journalist, author and politician who is currently a Member of the European Parliament, representing South East England for the Conservative Party and the European Conservatives and Reformists political group...
, who also described Kamiński as "the closest thing to a British Tory
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
outside the Carlton Club
Carlton Club
The Carlton Club is a gentlemen's club in London which describes itself as the "oldest, most elite, and most important of all Conservative clubs." Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.-History:...
."
Kamiński has spoken of his support for the Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
which he believes "guarantees Poland's sovereignty". He has also spoken in favour of the Common Agricultural Policy
Common Agricultural Policy
The Common Agricultural Policy is a system of European Union agricultural subsidies and programmes. It represents 48% of the EU's budget, €49.8 billion in 2006 ....
. Nevertheless, in his debut speech in the European Parliament as ECR chairman he called on the EU political leaders to respect the Irish "no" vote to the Lisbon Treaty.
Personal life
In his private life, Kamiński's passions include books, foreign languages as well as football. He lives in the Warsaw neighbourhood of WawerWawer
Wawer is one of the districts of Warsaw, located in the south-eastern part of the city. The Vistula river runs along its western border. Wawer became a district of Warsaw on October 27, 2002 .Wawer borders Praga Południe and Rembertów from the north, Wesoła from the east and Wilanów with Mokotów...
.
Honours
- The President of Lithuania's Order of Merit of the Republic of LithuaniaOrder for Merits to LithuaniaThe Order for Merits to Lithuania is an award, presented by the President of Lithuania, which may be conferred on the citizens of Lithuania and foreign nationals for distinguished services promoting name of Lithuania, expanding a develop international relationships, for distinguished merits in...
- Order of Yaroslav the Wise (Ukraine)
- Order of Infant Henry with Grand Ribbon (Portugal)
External links
Michał Kamiński official websiteMichał Tomasz Kamiński (born 28 March 1972) is a Polish politician
Politics of Poland
The politics of Poland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government of a multi-party system and the President is the head of state....
and a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for Warsaw
Warsaw (European Parliament constituency)
In European elections, Warsaw is a constituency of the European Parliament. It consists of the counties of Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Legionowo, Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Otwock, Piaseczno, Pruszków, Warsaw West, Wołomin and city of Warsaw.- Nomenclature :...
with Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First , also rendered as Poland is the Most Important, and abbreviated to PJN, is a centre-right, conservative liberal, political party in Poland. It was formed as a breakaway group from Law and Justice...
(PJN). He was chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
from July 2009 until March 2011.
Kamiński was a founder member of the Christian National Union (ZChN) in 1989, and served on its board from 1995 to 2001. Kamiński was elected to the Sejm in 1997
Polish parliamentary election, 1997
The Polish parliamentary election in 1997 to the Sejm and Senate of Poland was held on the 21 September. In the Sejm elections, 47.93% of citizens cast their votes, 96.12% of which were counted as valid...
for Solidarity Electoral Action
Solidarity Electoral Action
Solidarity Electoral Action was a political party coalition in Poland. Since 1997 its official name has been Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy or Solidarity Electoral Action of the Right...
, which included ZChN. In 2001, he joined the Right Alliance (PP), which merged with Law and Justice
Law and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
(PiS) the following year, having been reelected on the PP-PiS joint ticket
Electoral alliance
An electoral alliance may take the form of a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc. It is an association of political parties or individuals which exists solely to stand in elections...
in 2001
Polish parliamentary election, 2001
Polish parliamentary election in 2001 to Sejm and Senate of Poland were held on the 23rd September. In Sejm elections, 46.29% of citizens cast their votes, 96.01% of those were counted as valid...
.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 2004
European Parliament election, 2004 (Poland)
Elections to the European Parliament were held in Poland on 13 June 2004. 20.87% of eligible citizens voted; of these, 97.33% of the votes cast were valid. The elections resulted in a heavy defeat for the governing Alliance of the Democratic Left and Labor Union parties, although the very low...
, representing Warsaw. He stepped down to become Secretary of State in Chancellery of the President Lech Kaczyński's
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
. He was returned as an MEP in the 2009 election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Poland)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Poland was the election of the delegation from Poland to the European Parliament in 2009 which took place on 7 June 2009. On 13 February the Sejm accepted a proposal for an amendment to the electoral court act to allow voting for the European Parliament...
, and was elected chairman of the new European Conservatives and Reformists
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
group. In November 2010, he left PiS to form the more liberal Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First
Poland Comes First , also rendered as Poland is the Most Important, and abbreviated to PJN, is a centre-right, conservative liberal, political party in Poland. It was formed as a breakaway group from Law and Justice...
(PJN); while remaining in the ECR, he stepped down as chairman in March 2011.
Early life
Kamiński attended XLIX Liceum Ogólnokształcące in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, and then studied International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
. He first entered politics as a teenager, joining the National Revival of Poland when he was 15. The present day NOP is considered to be anti-Semitic, though Kamiński has defended his membership of the organisation, arguing that it was a symbol of his opposition to communism and that the party was not anti-Semitic when he was a member. In 1989 he was one of the founding members of the Christian National Union, the youngest founder at 17 years of age. He was a radio and newspaper journalist and radio producer in Bydgoszcz and Łomża. He frequently published in Catholic journals and newspapers and before 1989 his work appeared in the underground press. During the 1995 Polish Presidential election
Polish presidential election, 1995
1995 Presidential elections were held in Poland on Sunday November 5 , and Sunday November 19 . Aleksander Kwaśniewski and Lech Wałęsa passed to the second round...
, he was press spokesman for Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz-Waltz is a Polish liberal-conservative politician who has been the Mayor of Warsaw since 2 December 2006. She is the first woman to ever hold this position....
. Kamiński says he taught himself English by listening to illegal BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
broadcasts.
Domestic career
He was elected to the Third Sejm on 21 September 1997 as part of the Solidarity Electoral ActionSolidarity Electoral Action
Solidarity Electoral Action was a political party coalition in Poland. Since 1997 its official name has been Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy or Solidarity Electoral Action of the Right...
(Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność) grouping of parties for the Łomża Voivodeship, and later Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
.
In 1999, he visited London to present a gorget
Gorget
A gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons...
embossed with an image of the Virgin Mary to former Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an dictator General Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
along with Marek Jurek
Marek Jurek
Marek Jurek is a Polish right-wing politician, who does not have a parliamentary seat. Since 20 April 2007 he has been the leader of the aspirant party Right of the Republic, which does not have any MPs....
and the journalist Tomasz Wołek. "This was the most important meeting of my whole life. Gen Pinochet was clearly moved and extremely happy with our visit," Kamiński told the BBC's Polish service. In the same year, Kamiński won a journalists' award for being the best speaker in the Sejm. However, he later defended his visit to see General Pinochet, saying "we lived in this country subject to communist propaganda. We had little access to the real information, so for many Poles – not just me – this defence of Pinochet was across centre-right political parties in Poland and other eastern European countries at that time. It was my mistake, I admit it. I think every politician has the right to some mistakes. I made this mistake by just reversing the communist propaganda. It was a mistake that decent people of the left made when they were living under right-wing dictatorships – the kind of mistake where you just reverse the black and white propaganda. Today I know much more about Pinochet and I will never call him a hero again. It’s a question of context".
In July 2000, Kamiński used the word "pedał" (a derogatory Polish word for homosexual, usually translated into English as "fag" or "queer") in a TV interview to refer to gay rights campaigners. When asked by the reporter if such a term is offensive, his reply translates as: "That's how people speak, what should I say? They are fags." In a 2009 interview with Iain Dale he admitted the word was offensive and that he would never use it again. He confirmed he has homosexual friends and stated that he respects "the right [of gay people] to be treated with civility". In the same interview he expressed his pride that Poland was one of the first countries in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality and said that he has nothing against civil partnership legislation and "would consider voting yes" if he was still a member of the Polish Parliament. Also in 2000, he visited his first Conservative Party Conference
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, with Czech MEP Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil is a Czech politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Civic Democratic Party . He is the Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, a position that he's held since 8 March 2011.A scientific researcher by profession, Zahradil...
.
He became a member of the Right Alliance
Przymierze Prawicy
The Right Alliance was a centre-right conservative political party in Poland from 2001 to 2002.The party was formed on 26 March 2001 from part of Solidarity Electoral Action. It formed an electoral alliance with Law and Justice in the election in September 2001 to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland...
(Przymierze Prawicy) in 2001, and then joined the new conservative party Law and Justice
Law and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
(Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) in 2002. Kamiński was re-elected to the Sejm, for its Fourth Term, on 23 September 2001, representing the constituency of Białystok. Law and Justice increased its Parliamentary number from 18 to 45.
He was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In 2001 he was alleged by the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
of organising to prevent a commemoration of the WWII murder of Polish Jews by Polish gentiles in the town of Jedwabne
Jedwabne
Jedwabne is a town in Poland, in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, in Łomża County, with 1,942 inhabitants .- History :First mentioned in 1455, Jedwabne received city rights on July 17, 1736, from the Polish king August III, including the right to hold weekly markets on Sundays and five country fairs a...
. He has been quoted as saying that no apology should be forthcoming to the Jews of Jedwabne – until Jews had themselves apologised for their part in Soviet atrocities during the Soviet occupation, an idea not uncommon in parts of central and eastern Europe which had been part of the Soviet empire. He said “My position is that there were acts of collaboration of the Jewish people with the Soviet army when the Soviet army came to Poland. It’s a fact. It’s a historical fact… If you are asking the Polish nation to apologise for the crime made in Jedwabne, you would require from the whole Jewish nation to apologise for what some Jewish Communists did in Eastern Poland".
Then-Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
issued an apology for the atrocity, but the issue was hugely divisive. As the deputy in the Sejm responsible for the area, Kamiński expressed his opposition to a generalised apology, arguing that the individuals responsible should instead be singled out as criminals. In an interview with Martin Bright
Martin Bright
Martin Bright is a British journalist. He worked for the BBC World Service and The Guardian before becoming The Observer's education correspondent and then home affairs editor...
, political editor of the UK's Jewish Chronicle in 2009, he said “From the very beginning I was saying as a human being, as a Pole, that Jedwabne was a terrible crime, unfortunately committed by the Polish people. My point was from the very start: we are ashamed of these people, we have to condemn them, we have to judge them if they are still alive. But I don’t want to take the whole responsibility for this crime for the whole Polish nation.”
In an interview with political blogger Iain Dale
Iain Dale
Iain Campbell Dale is best known for his conservative-minded British political blog Iain Dale's Diary and for his frequent appearances on UK news channels as a political commentator. He is also a publisher, broadcaster and former Conservative Party politician...
, he said "if there were any doubts about my past I will give you the ultimate argument. When I became Secretary of State of Poland, I received a top NATO clearance, so it’s not about Polish politics now – it’s about a NATO clearance. I don’t think there can be any doubts about my political views and my past if I can receive a top NATO clearance."
Stephen Pollard
Stephen Pollard
Stephen Pollard is a British author and journalist, currently editor of The Jewish Chronicle. He is a former Chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and a former president of the Centre for the New Europe, a free-market think tank based in Brussels...
has said "As Editor of the Jewish Chronicle, and founding chairman of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, I am more alive than most to the dangers of the newly resurgent antisemitism. But there is simply no evidence that Mr Kaminski is an antisemite, only a series of politically motivated assertions. It is not Kaminski who is odious; it is those using antisemitism as a tool for their own political ends who deserve contempt".
Election
Kamiński was first elected to the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
on 16 June 2004. During his first term in the Parliament, he was a Vice-Chairman of the (now defunct) Union for a Europe of Nations group and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He was a substitute for the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Foreign Affairs (EU)
The Committee on Foreign Affairs , previously called Political Affairs, is a committee of the European Parliament...
, a vice-chair of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states that have signed the Cotonou Agreement.Since the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union...
and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America. He was one of the most active Polish MEPs, and wrote a report examining possible Ukrainian membership of the EU.
Kamiński is considered a key ally of President Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
, as well as being a modernising, moderating influence on Law and Justice in contrast to other Law and Justice politicians such as leader Jarosław Kaczyński. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
described him as "a 'spin doctor' – media-savvy, smartly dressed with fashionable spectacles, one of the masterminds of conservative President Lech Kaczynski's successful election campaign in 2005
Polish presidential election, 2005
-External links:**] ]**...
". On 13 July 2007 Kamiński was appointed Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
The Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland , established in 1989, is an institution working for and under the Polish president. This is an equivalent of such institutions as the Executive Chancellery of the President of the United States, and consists of the immediate staff of the...
, responsible for media policy. He vacated his European Parliament seat on 6 August, and was replaced by Ewa Tomaszewska.
Maiden speech
In his maiden speechMaiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
, Kamiński demonstrated his admiration for Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
:
European Conservatives and Reformists Group
He was re-elected as an MEP for Warsaw in 2009, now sitting in the new European Conservatives and ReformistsEuropean Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
Group (ECR). In the inaugural session of the 2009–2014 European Parliament session he was the official ECR candidate for one the Vice-President of the European Parliament positions. However he was not elected, largely due to the intervention of the British Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward Hugh Christian McMillan-Scott is a British Member of the European Parliament and one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament...
who ran as an independent candidate from the ECR group. McMillan-Scott ran, as he was "unhappy with a lack of debate about [Kamiński]'s candidacy and the controversial new alliance". Kamiński then became the first permanent chairman of the ECR group as a compromise measure, with Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy John Robert Kirkhope is a British lawyer and politician, currently serving as Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After serving for ten years as Member of Parliament for Leeds North East, he was first elected to the European Parliament...
and Geoffrey Van Orden
Geoffrey van Orden
Geoffrey Charles Van Orden MBE is a British politician and former soldier. He is currently Member of the European Parliament for the East of England region for the Conservative Party. He was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999....
stepping aside, in order for him to take up the position. He is the first person from Central Europe to lead one of the political groups of the European Parliament. As chairman of the ECR, he is a member of the exclusive Conference of Presidents
Conference of Presidents
In the European Union, the Conference of Presidents is a governing body of the European Parliament. The body is responsible for the organisation of Parliament, its administrative matters and agenda....
.
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
reported that the US administration consequently had "concerns about Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
among top members of the team", according to quotes from an unnamed Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
source. The article further quoted David Rothkopf
David Rothkopf
David J. Rothkopf is President and CEO of Garten Rothkopf, an international advisory firm specializing in transformational global trends, notably those associated with energy, security, and emerging markets....
in saying that the issue "makes [Cameron] an even more dubious choice to be Britain's next prime minister than he was before and, should he attain that post, someone about whom the Obama administration ought to be very cautious." The Jewish Chronicle and the Guardian later also reported statements from an unnamed UK government official that US State Department officials had raised questions of the relationship in a meeting with the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, a matter that US officials at the State Department denied, saying "No. It was not raised".
The British Conservative Party was also accused of attempting to alter pages on Wikipedia "to airbrush the embarrassing past" by Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward Hugh Christian McMillan-Scott is a British Member of the European Parliament and one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament...
, who also stated that his own article had been edited in this way. An article published in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper reports edits to the articles made on 25 June 2009 from an IP address originating in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
On 27 January 2011, Kamiński announced that he would resign as chairman of the ECR, citing "aggression" and "hatred" from his former colleagues in Poland's Law and Justice party. His resignation took effect on 8 March, and he was replaced by Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil
Jan Zahradil is a Czech politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Civic Democratic Party . He is the Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, a position that he's held since 8 March 2011.A scientific researcher by profession, Zahradil...
.
Political views
His views are described as "Euro-sceptic, free-market and Atlanticist" by Daniel Hannan MEPDaniel Hannan
Daniel John Hannan is a British journalist, author and politician who is currently a Member of the European Parliament, representing South East England for the Conservative Party and the European Conservatives and Reformists political group...
, who also described Kamiński as "the closest thing to a British Tory
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
outside the Carlton Club
Carlton Club
The Carlton Club is a gentlemen's club in London which describes itself as the "oldest, most elite, and most important of all Conservative clubs." Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.-History:...
."
Kamiński has spoken of his support for the Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
which he believes "guarantees Poland's sovereignty". He has also spoken in favour of the Common Agricultural Policy
Common Agricultural Policy
The Common Agricultural Policy is a system of European Union agricultural subsidies and programmes. It represents 48% of the EU's budget, €49.8 billion in 2006 ....
. Nevertheless, in his debut speech in the European Parliament as ECR chairman he called on the EU political leaders to respect the Irish "no" vote to the Lisbon Treaty.
Personal life
In his private life, Kamiński's passions include books, foreign languages as well as football. He lives in the Warsaw neighbourhood of WawerWawer
Wawer is one of the districts of Warsaw, located in the south-eastern part of the city. The Vistula river runs along its western border. Wawer became a district of Warsaw on October 27, 2002 .Wawer borders Praga Południe and Rembertów from the north, Wesoła from the east and Wilanów with Mokotów...
.
Honours
- The President of Lithuania's Order of Merit of the Republic of LithuaniaOrder for Merits to LithuaniaThe Order for Merits to Lithuania is an award, presented by the President of Lithuania, which may be conferred on the citizens of Lithuania and foreign nationals for distinguished services promoting name of Lithuania, expanding a develop international relationships, for distinguished merits in...
- Order of Yaroslav the Wise (Ukraine)
- Order of Infant Henry with Grand Ribbon (Portugal)