On March 1st, 2017, society stood still for a moment. The cause: a video a Polish EU (European Union) Parliament member criticizing women, stating “women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent.” The man who appears in the video is Janusz Korwin-Mikke.
Janusz Korwin-Mikke is the founder of a Polish liberal and Euroscepticism political party: Coalition for the Renewal of the Republic—Freedom and Hope (KORWiN). He became a member of the EU parliament on July 1st, 2014. Most importantly this incident is not the first time his name has been amidst a controversy.
In September 2015, Korwin-Mikke made a comment referring to Syrian refugees as “human garbage.” During this time the European Union Parliament was discussing their policy on allowing Syrian refugees to enter EU member states. Firmly opposed to this policy he stated that “this is an absurd policy that causes flooding Europe with human garbage.” Korwin-Mikke has even been reported stating that the European Commission building would be better served as a brothel, and that the EU is a “communist project.”
In July 2015, parliament members were shaken when Janusz Korwin-Mikke sprang to his feet during a debate, and seemed to be giving a Nazi salute. He did this in order to make a political point against the EU, since he had previously compared the EU to the Third Reich. The debate was on the matter of standardizing ticketing on trips across borders in the EU. Since Janusz Korwin-Mikke was against this plan he decided to show his opposition physically as well as verbally. He raised his hand in a Nazi salute and said “Ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Ticket,” which means “One Empire, one People, one Ticket”. He took inspiration from the Nazi slogan “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer,” which translates to “One People, one Empire, one Leader.” As a result of this incident the Polish foreign minister, Grzegorz Schetyna, released the statement: “We all are ashamed of such behavior and we apologize to Europe, the European Parliament, sorry to the voters.”
On March 2nd, 2017, Antonio Tajani, the current president of the EU parliament, started an investigation against Janusz Korwin-Mikke, due to his latest comments in parliament on women. The EU Parliament has strict rules on mutual respect and defamatory language. The investigation could result in Korwin-Mikke facing sanctions. The severity of his reprimand could range from a fine to a temporary suspension from Parliament.
Janusz Korwin-Mikke has consistently been a controversial figure in European politics, yet was elected as a member of the EU parliament by Poland. However, one could argue that his political views do not reflect those of Poland; since his party won just under five-percent of the vote in the 2015 parliamentary elections; which were not enough to win seats.
