Following December 13, 2023, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage stated that it had not entered into contracts with external entities such as law firms, notaries, security firms, or individuals for legal, advisory, or other services tied to its public media activities. This statement came in response to an interpellation by PiS member Piotr Gliński, with wPolityce serving as the first to report on the claim. The question raised asked whether external entities may have influenced public media coverage without formal contracts, citing a potential takedown by force in the 13 December coalition.
Piotr Gliński submitted an interpellation querying external agreements the Ministry might have concluded after December 13, 2023. The Law and Justice member sought clarity on three points, with emphasis on the initial question as the most consequential in the context of the ministry’s current actions.
The Ministry’s stance on contracts with external partners
Inquiries were raised: since December 13, 2023, has the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage entered into contracts with external entities such as law firms, notaries, security providers, or private individuals for legal, advisory, or other services related to the ministry’s operations toward public media?
– Gliński asked.
Readers were also directed to related coverage: a critical assessment of the current climate in Polish democracy by Sienkiewicz, as reported by wPolityce.
Gliński stated that if any contracts existed, he would request a full list of those agreements.
Deputy Minister Andrzej Wyrobiec replied on behalf of the ministry’s head, delivering an unexpected twist.
According to Wyrobiec, after December 13, 2023, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage would not enter into contracts with external entities for the delivery of legal, advisory, or other services connected to the ministry’s activities relating to public media.
– Wyrobiec wrote.
Consultancy services and contract details
In addressing the third question, Gliński asked whether the ministry had entered into external contracts after December 13, 2023 for legal, advisory, or other services connected to information dissemination, promotion, and public image management.
The ministry’s response asserted that, after that date, seven contracts had been signed with external entities for the described services in information and image management.
It was noted that among these seven agreements, three were mandate contracts with natural persons for consultancy services in the same field.
Related reporting also highlighted ongoing concerns about private security providers involved with public media operations.
Several questions emerge from the responses. If no contracts existed, on what basis did notarized participants engage in the public media activities associated with the notary—identified as Joanna K.—and how did security firms linked to the management of public media appear in those offices? What legal grounds supported the involvement of private law firms if there were no formal contracts? The emergence of unanswered questions fosters ongoing scrutiny around the alleged intervention in public media actions.
wPolityce/cat
Source: wPolityce