Donald Tusk

“Quality of life is not only about what you find in the shops; it's about the landscape.”

“I spent an important part of my life participating in conflicts. But for me, conflict was not the main principle.”

“My Kashubian family, like the Jews, are people who were born and live in border areas and were suspected by the Nazis and by the Communists of being disloyal.”

“Poles must understand history but we must also overcome it if it is obstructing our contemporary goals.”

“I got into politics a little bit by chance, as a person from the first generation of the Solidarity movement.”

“There is no Polish culture without Jewish culture.”

“If there's one country that can be trusted to understand the complexity of history, it's Israel.”

“לפולין ולישראל דעות דומות על האיומים הגלובליים, לא רק שיש השקפות משותפות, אלא שניתן לבצע פעולות משותפות בתחומי הביטחון והסדר העולמי.”

“לכל אדם, בוודאי לראש ממשלה פולני, ביקור בישראל הוא חשוב ומיוחד ולכן אני מתרגש מטעמים מובנים. זו ארץ הקודש, זו מדינה שכל העולם מתעניין בה והיא גם קשורה בקשר עמוק להיסטוריה המיוחדת של יחסי הפולנים עם העם היהודי.”

“זה מגוחך לחשוב שהאיחוד האירופי יכול להיות איום ביטחוני על ארצות הברית.”

“לא נקבל שום החלטה או הצהרה של פוליטיקאים גרמנים, שקוראת תיגר על התיאור ההיסטורי המאוזן של מלחמת העולם השנייה.”

“לעבוד יותר זמן זה תענוג.”

“We are giving the citizens of Poland a sense that a reasonable and predictable government is ruling here.”

“Poland is not a very large country, but it's also not a small country.”

“Poland is quite a mediocre country in some regards. The only natural resource that we have, and with which we can compete, is freedom.”

“My family history, like that of many Polish, German and Jewish families from Central Europe in the 20th century, is complex.”

“I can confirm that Poland should become a eurozone country, and not just because of the treaties that have been signed, but because I consider it of strategic interest both for Poland and the E.U.”

“For Poland, the United States is the most important ally.”

“If we want to protect people against dictators or repression or torture, don't you need that rule to be universal so as to not end up with a situation where we do so only when it is comfortable, profitable and safe?”

“In Poland we still believe - and this certainly applies to my government - that greater competitiveness, and greater growth and savings are possible in an economy which is as sparely regulated as possible, where freedom, competition and private ownership are key values.”