2023-12-14 14:29 update: 2023-12-15, 13:09
Grzegorz Braun. Photo PAP/Marcin Obara
The head of the Law and Justice (PiS) political caucus has said the deputy speaker of parliament should resign if Confederation, the far-right party he belongs to, fails to expel one of its MPs who turned a fire extinguisher on a Jewish menorah in the Polish parliament.
Grzegorz Braun caused chaos and uproar in the main hall of the parliament building on Tuesday when he used the extinguisher on the menorah's candles, which had been lit to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
His actions made headlines around the world and prompted a furious backlash from across the Polish political spectrum.
Mariusz Blaszczak, the head of the Law and Justice (PiS) political caucus, told state-owned Radio One on Thursday that whatever his motivation, "Braun should be expelled from Confederation."
"If he is not expelled, it will mean Krzysztof Bosak (the Confederation deputy speaker - PAP) stands by him, and he should step down as deputy speaker of the Sejm (the lower house of the Polish parliament – PAP)," Blaszczak said. "There is no justification for the attack because it was an attack on Poland.
"Let's see what is happening in the world's media. It is an attack conducted by a man who is either completely irresponsible or someone who acts to the detriment of our country," he added.
Slawomir Mentzen, the co-leader of Confederation, announced on Wednesday that Braun had been suspended from the party and banned from speaking in the Sejm.
The New Left party has filed a motion to dismiss Bosak from the deputy speaker post. It stated that Bosak allowed Braun to give an anti-Semitic speech, in which he called the menorah lighting ceremony 'racist.'
Szymon Holownia, the Sejm's speaker, expelled Braun from Tuesday's sitting and called a recess, delaying the vote of confidence on the new Donald Tusk government. The Tusk cabinet won the vote on Tuesday night.
Later on Tuesday, Holownia penalised Braun with the withdrawal of half his remuneration for three months and his entire subsistence allowance for six months.
The speaker also authorised the Sejm's Office to file a motion to the prosecutor's office. The prosecutors opened a criminal case against Braun on Wednesday morning.
Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish festival of lights commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem in 164 BC, during which candles are lit on a menorah, a ceremonial candelabrum. (PAP)
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