Bigoted campaign draws censure

WARSAW — A senior European Union official on Monday criticized a campaign by Polish authorities against the LGBT rights movement during a close presidential election campaign, saying it is wrong to target minorities for political gain.

European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova, who is in charge of values and transparency, spoke two days after Polish President Andrzej Duda called the LGBT rights movement more dangerous than communism.

“I find it really sad that in modern Europe, politicians holding high offices decide to target minorities for potential political gains,” Jourova told the European Parliament, adding that it violated EU guarantees of equal rights for all.

LGBT rights have become a key campaign theme ahead of Poland’s presidential election on June 28. Duda, the incumbent backed by the nationalist conservative governing party, has vowed to protect Polish families against what he calls an “LGBT ideology” that he says is seeking to enter schools and influence children.

Duda is the frontrunner but his key challenger, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a vocal supporter of LGBT rights, has been gaining in opinion polls. It is expected that none of 10 candidates will win 50% of the vote on June 28 and that Duda and Trzaskowski will face each other in a runoff on July 12.

At a campaign rally on Saturday, Duda said that the LGBT rights movement promotes a viewpoint more harmful than communism and expressed agreement with another conservative politician’s view that “LGBT is not people, it’s an ideology.”

As Duda campaigned Monday in the eastern Polish city of Lublin, he said he was just trying to protect families and keep LGBT “ideology” out of schools.