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The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

Kaminski ties continue to shame the Tories

The party's dishonesty is doing it no favours

By George Eaton Published 29 October 2009 14:14

The questions over the Tories' sinister European alliance just won't go away. William Hague and David Miliband's tête-à-tête on the Today programme this morning has placed the party's relationship with the Polish MEP Michal Kaminski under new scrutiny.

At the centre of the debate are the comments first made about Kaminski by the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich, to my colleague James Macintyre. In his original email, which can be read in full here, he said:

[I]t is clear that Mr Kaminski was a member of NOP, a group that is openly far-right and neo-Nazi. Anyone who would want to align himself with a person who was an active member of NOP and the Committee to Defend the Good Name of Jedwabne (which was established to deny historical facts of the massacre at Jedwabne) needs to understand with what and by whom he is being represented.

Today has now published an email sent by Schudrich to Policy Exchange in which he appears to perform a U-turn:

It is a grotesque distortion that people are quoting me to prove that Kaminski is an anti-Semite. Portraying Kaminski as a neo-Nazi plays into the painful and false stereotype that all Poles are anti-Semitic.

The Tories are now citing this email as evidence that Jewish concerns about Kaminski were exaggerated and even fabricated. Yet the fact remains that Schudrich has never retracted his original comments to James. The Observer's Toby Helm recently emailed the Chief Rabbi, who confirmed that he had no plans to disown his initial statement.

But more significantly, he reveals: "What I understand is that Schudrich has been under the most enormous pressure from the highest authorities in Poland to retract the remarks, but has refused to do so."

At the very least Schudrich's original email raised profound concerns over the Conservatives' political morality.

One point that cannot be made often enough is that Kaminski is not a lone maverick or an obscure backbencher; he is the leader of the Conservatives' European coalition. Right-wingers who highlight the odd cranky figure in the Party of European Socialists are not engaging in a like-for-like comparison.

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Tags: Tories & Europe

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6 comments

Thu, 2009-10-29 15:37 — StephenM

@Iain Dale

Your blog post today concerning Kaminski might carry more weight if you had included the original quotation in the New Statesman, not just the headline and a link, that caused the controversy in the first place. Namely, "It is clear that Mr Kaminski was a member of the NOP, a group that is openly far-right and neo-Nazi..." etc. It seems a bit disingenuous without it.

Also, how do you account for the Observer's Tony Helms claiming that despite "enormous pressure" from Kaminski's Law and Justice party Shudrich has thus far refused to recant his original statement?

Thu, 2009-10-29 17:59 — Jonathan L (not verified)

Oliver F

"What a strange comment from Iain Dale."

What's strange about demanding that facts be verified and quotes attributed? If I were to assert that Professor David Blanchflower, formerly of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, had called your comment "pig-ignorant", you would rightly ask me to show my working. No need, though, he said no such thing. It was an example.

"What's the purpose of arguing semantics here?"

Gee, Ollie, I don't know. What's the point of anything? Who mentioned semantics, anyway?

"It seems to me the so-called Tory blogosphere..."

Yeah, it has been called that, hasn't it, by, um... ooh, who was it... oh, yeah, YOU. You're like a man cuddling the python that's strangling him to death.

"...increasingly appears to be the on the hard-right fringe of the party."

Come join us in the 21st century when you're ready, Oliver. The only people for whom the terms 'left' and 'right' retain any meaning today are GCSE politics students. Oh, and racing drivers.

Maligning anything that emanates from the traditional periphery as by definition "extreme" is an old Socialist trick. It's been used for everything from silencing freedom of the press to exterminating Roma.

"Surely only a matter of time before Cameron and the 'progressive' Tories have to distance..."

This, if anything, is the truly strange comment. The myth that there is a 'progressive' wing of the Tory party, and that Cameron is part of it, is as old as some of its members.

"...themselves."

Ooh, we are using big long words today, aren't we? Been playing Scrabble, have we?

Thu, 2009-10-29 23:40 — Tomorrow'sWorld

I came here for relief from the relentless rightist (self) righteous infesting every other corner of the blogosphere. But no such luck - all discussion crushed here too beneath the weight of poisonous rightwing cynicism masquerading as wit. Goodbye again

Thu, 2009-10-29 16:40 — OliverF (not verified)

What a strange comment from Iain Dale.

What's the purpose of arguing semantics here? It seems to me the so-called Tory blogosphere increasingly appears to be the on the hard-right fringe of the party.

Surely only a matter of time before Cameron and the "progressive" Tories have to distance themselves...

Thu, 2009-10-29 15:03 — jackie

Your piece might carry more weight if you quoted the piece where Shudrich criticises James Macintyre's origina article.

I wont hold my breath though.

Thu, 2009-10-29 15:16 — undercoveragent (not verified)

Iain Dale is a first rate Tory apologist and yet the party won't give him a safe seat. How depressing for him.
And how odd that any Tory should want to defend this rancid homophobe.