Zack Polanski has to stop giving corporate media smears the time of day

The Murdoch Times and the Guardian – and of course the Labour party – are again smearing Green party leader Zack Polanski. The terror they have of the Green surge Polanski is presiding over couldn’t be clearer. But Polanski must stop validating the smear narratives by apologising.

The latest is a claim that Polanski “falsely claimed” to have been be a spokesperson for the Red Cross. He might have chosen the wrong word, as he was never employed as an official spokesman. But he did represent the organisation – repeatedly. And, as usual, there are ‘receipts’:

Polanski needs to stand his ground

But instead of pointing to the record and deriding his attackers, he has again validated the smear campaign by ‘admitting’ he was ‘wrong’ to say he was a spokesman. In an interview on the BBC‘s Radio 4 Today programme, he said:

I hosted various fundraisers for the British Red Cross, and indeed I would go on stage and speak for them about the amazing work they do tackling humanitarian crises, on the climate crisis, and indeed, for refugees all around the world.

I used the wrong word, and I accept that, but I would essentially take words on stage with me and speak. It’s important, though, and I accept this, that they don’t support any political party, and I’ve made sure that’s been taken down.

…I think it’s totally fine to ask me questions about my past. I would also say, in the same breath though, the Times published a pretty antisemitic cartoon of me last week. I asked them to apologise, and it feels some of these stories feel like scraping the barrel to kind of go back 10, 15 years.

The delivery was feisty enough, but all too predictably he handed the media an opportunity to ignore reality and create headlines about his ‘admission’:

Corbyn

Polanski also missed an opportunity to nail the smears for what they are. The Today (that should probably read “Toady”) interviewer asked Polanski how he would avoid becoming “the new Jeremy Corbyn of British politics”.

This was a golden opportunity to point out that Corbyn was taken down by the smears and sabotage of those terrified that Corbyn would make life better for the many instead of a handful of billionaires. That the smears were coordinated by those around Keir Starmer – just like the same terrified Labour sleazes are elbow-deep in it now. That Corbyn would have immediately recognised Palestine and would not be collaborating in genocide and illegal wars like Starmer is.

Instead, Polanski responded that he and Corbyn are “very different people” but that the latter had “really positive” policies on including wealth taxes and public ownership.

Polanski’s feistiness in slapping down smears has been one of his most popular and effective characteristics and has given hope of change to a country in desperate need of it. His new habit of apologising instead is going to wreck that as it wrecked Corbyn. If he doesn’t return to his combative self, he will hand his attackers exactly what they want.

Featured image via the Canary