Short on Law and Justice | Piotr Miszczuk

The recent presidential campaign has yet again laid bare the very flaws of Polish politics. Empty promises put forward by candidates have revealed why Poland’s internal conflict continues to fester. The two biggest political groupings, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) and the opposing Civic Platform (PO), are keenly heading for fierce bipartisanship, whereas the other political players are nibbling away at the support of the two main political powers. Clinched in an endless feud, Poles find themselves forced to choose one side and one side only. A side that abhors the other one.

No bridging of differences, no dialogue, no trade-offs. Since the conservative Law and Justice came to power in 2015, the social divide in Poland has turned into a fathomless chasm. It had all been kicked off by the tragic Polish presidential airplane crash in 2010; a disaster that killed 96 people including Lech Kaczyński, the head of state and the twin brother of then-opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński. Now, the ruling party’s all-powerful chairperson, Mr Kaczyński, still hasn’t come to terms with his brother’s untimely death and keeps harbouring resentment towards the Civic Platform, whom he holds responsible for not bringing back the airplane wreckage from Russia. Plotting to garner popular support, Kaczyński eventually pulled off an election victory five years ago, securing a majority in both houses of the Polish Parliament. Since then, his party has given out huge handouts, pandering to much of the electorate. In particular, they convinced the poor and uneducated who put their trust in Law and Justice, allowing it to remain in power (in the lower house) for its second consecutive term in the parliamentary election last year.

The mandate the ruling fundamentalists received from Polish voters fuelled several negative phenomena. After having taken over the state-owned media, the government said goodbye to most of the journalists working there. The reshuffles tarnished the image of the national broadcasters and since that moment the tide of adverse changes has been marching on. From manipulated Polish Radio to delusional news ticklers on Polish Television, the national media have shown their true colours by slandering the ruling party’s political rivals. At the behest of party leaders, the government’s mouthpieces took derogatory swipes at the opposition and ignored the rulers’ incompetence and omnipresent cronyism.

Yet, the ruling party’s transgressions don’t stop at the media. They also ran afoul the judiciary, prompting a reaction from EU institutions. The far-reaching judicial changes have been putting Poland in the EU dock every now and then. Under the guise of defending the country’s sovereignty, Law and Justice leaders have many a time refused to take notice of the EU’s exhortations to obey the rule of law. They accused the EU of interfering in Poland’s internal affairs and pointed at the opposing Civic Platform as those who commissioned a proceeding over lawfulness in Poland.

At present, the country seems to be forsaken by all of its allies. It is on a head-on collision course with EU’s prodemocratic forces, merely enlisting the lukewarm support of the opportunist Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, who has also been lambasted by the EU officials for his authoritarian rule.

As a result, the Polish authorities have found themselves at a crossroads. On the one hand, the newly-adopted 2021-2027 EU budget is set to secure Poland’s economic well-being. On the other hand, receiving EU funds will depend on upholding democratic standards. Therefore, in order to be given the money, the Polish authorities will have to abide by the rule of law. It bodes ill for an economy so reliant on EU funds. In 2018, Poland spent a staggering 16 billion euros from the EU budget and became its greatest net recipient. Now, that Poland’s democracy is backsliding, EU officials are nothing but loath to inject more funds into the Polish economy. The patience of the other member states has been wearing thin for a long time and it seems that their pressure on bringing back an independent judiciary in Poland is mounting.

Should Poland continue to infringe the rule of law, it will reach the point of no return. The future political moves of the rulers are likely to shape the course of the country for decades. Not only will subsequent violations of democracy cripple Poland’s economy, but they will also shift the country away from the European Community. The ruling party will most assuredly blame the EU for any austerities and push Poland further towards authoritarianism. Fed on LGBT-free zones and xenophobic outlooks, the Polish authorities will aim at exporting their views to the rest of Europe. If unsuccessful, they will attempt to unify the nation by keeping it focused on an external enemy, the corrupt West.

Until the 2023 parliamentary election, Law and Justice will hold a full mandate to enforce changes in each and every department of the state. With a majority in the lower house and re-elected figurehead president Duda, only the upper house can hamper their anti-democratic designs. Nonetheless, the democratic stipulations of the new EU budget will cause Poland to welcome a most turbulent time and it’s up to the ruling populists whether they will choose Poland’s prosperity over their partisan interests.

Piotr Miszczuk