A new campaign ad from Poland’s ruling party features Germany’s chancellor in an unfavorable light

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s conservative ruling party has unveiled a new campaign ad that portrays German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an unfavorable light. The Law and Justice party has governed Poland since 2015 and is seeking to keep power when the country holds an Oct. 15 parliamentary election. In the new campaign spot, party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is Poland’s most powerful politician, pretends to reject a call from Scholz about raising Poland’s retirement age, which is one of the topics of a voter referendum accompanying the election. The question targets Civic Platform party leader Donald Tusk a former Polish prime minister who was on good terms with Germany. Civic Platform raised the retirement age before Law and Justice came to power.