WARSAW: Poland's prime minister on Wednesday stressed her opposition to compatriot Donald Tusk's re-election as EU president on the eve of a European summit overshadowed by the row.
The rightwing Beata Szydlo accused the liberal Tusk of having "brutally violated" the rule of "political neutrality" by becoming involved in domestic political disputes.
The attack on Tusk, made in a letter to governments of the 28-member bloc, came a day ahead of a Brussels summit where leaders were expected to rubberstamp a new two-year mandate for the former Polish premier.
Since winning power in October 2015 elections, Szydlo's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government has pushed through a string of controversial reforms that triggered mass protests at home and an EU threat of sanctions over rule of law violations.
"We can't allow a dangerous precedent where the democratically elected government of a member country is politically attacked by the president of the European Council," Szydlo said in the letter, stopping short of citing Tusk by name.
Poland's euro sceptic government on Saturday proposed MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski as its official candidate to replace Tusk.
So far Poland has won support only from Hungary -- led by the outspoken, anti-immigration Viktor Orban.
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