Politics

Far-right Polish politician ejected for disrupting MEPs’ Holocaust tribute

Grzegorz Braun (right) was told to leave after shouting: “Let’s pray for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza.” Photo: PAP/PAP/EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS
Grzegorz Braun (right) was told to leave after shouting: “Let’s pray for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza.” Photo: PAP/PAP/EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS
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A far-right MEP who is running in Poland’s presidential election has been expelled from a European Parliament meeting after disrupting a minute of silence for Holocaust victims.

The incident occurred on Wednesday during a plenary session marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

As MEPs were commemorating the victims, Grzegorz Braun, who was until recently a member of Poland’s far-right Confederation party, interrupted the solemn moment by shouting: “Let’s pray for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza.” Despite repeated requests for silence, Braun continued shouting, prompting Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, to have him escorted from the chamber. Braun’s actions were widely criticized by other MEPs, who condemned them as disrespectful to the victims of the Holocaust, one of history’s most horrific genocides.

However, the far-right Polish politician attempted to defend his actions.

In a post on social media platform X, Braun wrote: “I didn’t ‘disturb’ [the minute of silence], I supplemented it – with a call to pray for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza.”

No stranger to controversy


This isn't Braun's first foray into controversy, as the 57-year-old politician has built a reputation for disruptive incidents.

He made headlines in December 2023 when he used a fire extinguisher to put out Menorah candles during a ceremony in the Polish parliament marking the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

Following the incident, which sparked condemnation, Braun had the immunity from prosecution that he enjoyed as an MP revoked.

In April, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw charged him of insulting religious beliefs in the parliament building, among other things.

Braun was elected to the European Parliament in June. Poland’s justice minister later requested that his immunity as an MEP be waived, sending the parliament a list of seven offenses Braun is suspected of committing.

These allegations include assaulting and defaming Polish former health minister Lukasz Szumowski for his lockdown policies during the Covid-19 pandemic; vandalizing a Christmas tree adorned with EU and Ukrainian flags; damaging property at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw; and publicly insulting the religious beliefs of others and destroying a religious symbol.

Braun heads the Konfederacja Korony Polskiej (Confederation of the Polish Crown) faction within Poland’s far-right opposition Confederation grouping.

He was recently expelled from the Confederation after launching a bid to become head of state, despite the party already having announced its candidate for the country’s May presidential elections.

However, Braun’s chances of winning the race appear to be next to nothing, with a recent poll showing that he enjoys just 2% support.
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