Germany: Nobel Laureate Tokarczuk 'not very enthused' about Polish election outcome

W/S Press conference, 2019 Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt
SOT, Olga Tokarczuk, 2018 Nobel Prize winner for Literature (Polish): "I think that unfortunately Poland is sliding back into a culture war, and differences between the camps are very big on the most fundamental issues. Polish rulers, the Polish right-wing have their own vision of the world, history and what a culture should look like."
M/S Camera *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Olga Tokarczuk, 2018 Nobel Prize winner for Literature (Polish): "The attempt to appropriate historical memory, which is taking place over the issue of museums, is very disturbing to me. The second thing which is disturbing is the attempt to control theatres; these are the institutions that belong to the state, so they are easy to quickly control through the state."
W/S Audience *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Olga Tokarczuk, 2018 Nobel Prize winner for Literature (Polish): "There are no censors in Poland in regards to literary work. However, I have begun to observe recently with unease that there is starting to appear something like self-censorship, that is a fear of saying what one thinks, and the eventual political consequences of this."
M/S Screen *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Olga Tokarczuk, 2018 Nobel Prize winner for Literature (Polish): "I am not very enthused about the outcome of these elections, but I am excited about the new composition of the Polish parliament, which will receive many new people. Especially in my case, I am happy that leftists and Greens entered parliament as a result of this [election], first of all; and I think that there will be a totally new four years of government."
W/S Tokarczuk; audience clapping
SCRIPT
The 2018 Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Olga Tokarczuk, said that she was "not very enthused" about the outcome of her country's parliamentary election, which saw Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party win a second term in office. She spoke at a press conference at the 2019 Frankfurt Book Fair on Tuesday.
Tokarczuk argued that "the Polish government, the Polish right-wing have their own vision of the world, history and what a culture should look like."
"I think that unfortunately Poland is sliding back into a culture war, and differences between the camps are very big on the most fundamental issues," added the Nobel laureate.
However, she appeared optimistic despite her reservations, noting that she was "excited about the new composition of the Polish parliament," and added, "I think that there will be a totally new four years of government."
The 2019 Frankfurt Book Fair runs from October 16 to October 20.