"Mr Czarnecki (ECR, Poland) was obliged to give up the role of Vice-President after he described fellow MEP Róża Thun (EPP, PL) as a "shmaltsovnik" (a deeply offensive Polish term for someone who blackmailed Jews, or Poles protecting Jews, during the Nazi occupation)," the statement read.
According to the statement, 447 parliamentarians voted in favor of dismissing Czarnecki, while 196 voted against the move.
Victory for polish MEP Roza von Thun: Ryszard Carnecki from PiS party had insulted her using a crude Nazi comparison. She had just spoken her mind about democracy in Poland. EP now demoted Czarnecki as vice president:“His attacks cross a red line“. pic.twitter.com/SfkVP2JlyC
— Barbara Wesel (@wesel_barbara) 7 февраля 2018 г.
The dismissal comes in a wake of the a fight of words between the politicians. Thun accused the Polish ruling party of violating democratic principles while being interviewed by the German-French television channel Arte.
Later Czarnecki responded to Thun's comment, saying that she was working against Poland. He said in a blog: "during the Second World War we had 'shmaltsniki,' and today we have Rosa Tun; unfortunately, this holds up a certain tradition."
This is the latest in a series of scndals involving Nazi-related issues and Poland. Polish President Adrzei Duda has signed into law a controvercial bill prohibiting any suggestions that Poles collborated with the Third Reich during the World War II.
