All possible legal consequences should be pursued against Radio ZET and the journalists who, intentionally or not, framed the story around Marshal Witek and her husband. Yet there is a particular call to action that stands out: a boycott. The goal is to clearly demonstrate that hatred and division have no place in public life, a sentiment articulated by PiS MP Anna Kwiecinski in an interview with the wPolityce.pl portal.
wPolityce.pl: How does a Member of Parliament, serving on the Polish Radio Program Council, assess the conduct of Radio ZET journalists who used the illness of the Speaker of the Sejm’s husband to sensationalize the report and present it in a negative light?
Anna April: The assessment is unequivocally negative. This move against Elzbieta Witek’s husband is seen as an attempt to strike at her, the second person in the state, simply because she stands with the right-wing government. The blow feels harsher because it leverages the ailing husband, who is in need of ICU care.
Radio ZET described a patient who waited eight days for ICU transfer in Legnica. Witek would have faced a similar wait in that context.
What followed was an attempt to pin responsibility on the Marshal for someone else’s care by suggesting it was about her or her husband’s supposed failings.
It should be remembered that doctors determine prescriptions, treatment plans, and care plans. They decide which patient receives what care, no matter who the patient is.
It should also be noted that the Radio ZET journalists reportedly described the case subjectively, without awaiting the hospital’s or the National Health Fund’s input, and expressed genuine concern for the family. In this instance, Elzbieta Witek’s family was used as a tool. The described scenario is viewed as a scandal and a lack of humanity toward the patient, Mr. Witek, and the entire family, including the Marshal.
Wouldn’t this have drawn attention even if the name were different?
“The length of a patient’s ICU stay depends on medical decisions. Some patients have spent more than a year in intensive care. In the past five years, there have been 83 such cases,” the National Health Fund stated in response to Radio ZET’s reporting, as relayed through wPolityce.pl.
Have reporters shown interest in other patients in similar circumstances? The pattern appears aligned with political agendas and with attempts to discredit the Marshal. The online uproar from ordinary Poles indicates broad disapproval of the journalists’ actions. It seems clear that there is a strong dissatisfaction with the way political opponents are targeted for perceived missteps.
This is not the first incident. There have been past episodes, such as attacks on the daughter of President Andrzej Duda and on the children of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Many feel that a new threshold of decency has been crossed.
Why did the journalists act? Was it frustration that their political camp cannot surpass PiS in polls?
If intentions were good, they might have waited for a response from the National Health Fund before publishing. There appears to be substantial frustration behind the reporting, and such actions seem more likely to benefit the governing party’s standing in polls. Public sentiment resents the use of every possible method to discredit an opponent.
Meanwhile, Marshal Witek remains a central figure for Law and Justice, viewed positively by many PiS supporters for showing empathy and practical kindness in parliamentary work. She is known for helping others, regardless of political affiliation, and she often demonstrates this in her professional duties.
There is also a note that Marshal Witek did not seek or require hospital protection in Legnica’s facilities.
Elzbieta Witek did not utilize the legal privileges available to her by virtue of her position, such as placing her husband in a ministry or military hospital. Instead, she and her husband chose the standard private-payer route that many Poles use through health insurance. It is also asserted that the journalists conducted an in-depth interview with Marshal Witek prior to publication, and she conveyed the situation with humility. The journalists are accused of fabricating claims that they did not receive her responses.
A small group of people reportedly knew about Mrs. Witek’s husband’s illness.
The Marshal is depicted as someone who cares for others, not for herself. She does not seek sympathy and continues to manage her husband’s illness with dignity. She is seen as a public figure who supports others, often without asking for assistance in return.
The chairperson of the National Broadcasting Council opened proceedings in response to the publication. Is that action sufficient?
Ultimately, the decision rests with Radio ZET’s listeners and audience. There is a call to speak up for a collective standard of conduct in the country and to reject hate. People are urged to reflect on whether they condemn such behavior and whether they will support outlets that spread lies, hatred, and division through advertising or other means.
The interviewer for wPolityce.pl: Radoslaw Molenda
READ ALSO:
— WE REVEAL. We know the National Health Fund’s response to Radio ZET’s scandalous article: Patients admitted to ICU for more than a year.
— ONLY HERE. Janusz Kowalski on the attack on Marshal Witek: I will pray for these journalists and hope for reflection.
— Niedzielski on the attack on Witek: No journalist should assume the role of a doctor; it cheapens the patient’s experience.
— The chair of the National Broadcasting Council initiated proceedings over Radio ZET’s material about Marshal Witek’s husband.
— ONLY HERE. Elzbieta Witek and her family deserve the best care. The Marshal of the Sejm entrusted her husband’s life to Legnica doctors.
Source: wPolityce