The scene in front of the Palace is growing more bizarre by the day Andrew Kureth/WBJ

The wooden cross standing outside the Presidential Palace is a source of growing conflict in Poland. However, the already tense situation grew increasingly bizarre in mid-August.

The wooden cross was erected in front of the Presidential Palace by Girl and Boy Scouts shortly after the deaths of President Lech Kaczyński and many others in Smolensk, Russia, in April.

After extensive media coverage of the self-styled “defenders of the cross,” a small but vocal minority dedicated to guarding against its removal, a group of youths were inspired to stage a counter-demonstration. Several thousand people demonstrated in front of barriers erected around the cross, carrying signs (“Tear down the Palace! It overshadows the cross!”), singing, dancing and bouncing a beach ball. The group also showed support for the government’s original plan to move the cross to St. Anne’s Church, further down the street.

Two days later, in an attempt to appease the defenders of the cross and their supporters, a commemorative plaque was installed on the wall of the Presidential Palace in an unheralded ceremony which almost nobody attended. Curiously, the plaque not only commemorates the 96 victims of the April 10 Smolensk crash, but also devotes significant space to a description of “gatherings of numerous Poles, united in grief and concern for the future of the country.”

The plaque failed to satisfy demonstrators, who greeted it with shouts of “Shame!” They also reiterated their demand for a permanent memorial in front of the Palace.

Even if President Komorowski were to concede on this point – and he’s shown no intention of doing so – installing a monument on the grounds of the Presidential Palace would be administratively cumbersome. The Palace itself is officially designated a monument, so special permits would be required. In addition, there’s already a plan to erect a separate monument in Powązki Cemetery at a cost of zł.2.5 million.

Tensions only grew from there. On August 14, the government riled the pro-cross camp by physically removing a group of defenders in order to install metal barriers around the cross.

Then, in a bizarre turn, a 71-year-old man smashed a glass jar filled with feces against the Smolensk Plaque in broad daylight. He was arrested at the scene and will face charges.

This was followed the next day by further strangeness when a 60-year-old man was arrested after threatening a group of cross defenders with a grenade. The munition turned out to be just an empty shell, but this man too was taken into custody and will likely face charges.

How much is this theater of the absurd costing taxpayers?

According to TVN24, on an average day the area is patrolled by 60 city guards and almost the same number of police officers. But the recent counter-demonstration required the presence of 500 policemen and 200 city guards.

Although police headquarters has not commented on the additional costs of policing the area, the cost of the extra city guard presence is said to be over zł.86,000 for every three days of work. This also stretches both law enforcement agencies’ resources, with fewer officers to deploy elsewhere in Warsaw.