Poland 2015 Part III

Some leading PiS representatives described Poland under the current government as almost under a German-Russian joint government ruled from Berlin, playing on anti-German and anti-Russian as well as strongly anti-immigrant sentiments among Polish voters.

In order to attract more moderate voters, PiS also “hid” its most controversial politicians during the election campaign. In addition, they toned down the more far-reaching parts of the party program. PO presented itself as a non-PiS, while PiS “sold” itself as a softer version of itself, with many promises of a better life for most and punishment for those who had been guilty of various negligence (ifbm. the Polish president the plane that crashed at Smolensk ) during the previous regime.

What also contributed to the political earthquake in 2015 was that many voters voted in protest – they prioritized showing their strong dissatisfaction with the entire sitting political power elite . This became visible especially in the presidential election. Then 20 percent of the votes in the first round went to a popular rock star Pawel Kukiz, and his voters contributed greatly to Duda’s victory in the second round of elections. into Parliament.

Ordinary government attrition, exacerbated by political scandals that hit the incumbent government hard, combined with the desire for political change as well as a good election campaign with promises of a fairer distribution resulted in the victory for PiS.

5: What is the problem with today’s Poland?

After forming a government, PiS was able to start implementing the party program , and it has actually managed to start a very ambitious social project called 500+. It must ensure large money transfers to Polish families with children. But instead of settling for this, the party has also opted for greater reshuffles than what was predicted by voters before the election. This has led to a strong mobilization – both inside and outside Poland – against this “revolution”.

Two questions are perceived by many as particularly controversial:

• Without having the necessary 2/3 majority to change the current constitution, the party still seeks to change the political system and balance of power in the country. Therefore, the new government has tried to paralyze the work of the Polish Constitutional Court. Its task is to ensure that new laws are in accordance with the Constitution. It has caused the country’s allies in the EU and NATO to react.
• The introduction of new media laws . These gave the ruling party almost complete control over state media , which today is widely used to broadcast pure propaganda.

According to PAYHELPCENTER, PiS’s approach has received much criticism, but support for the party still remains at a relatively high level. Critics say the party has too weak a political mandate to implement such far-reaching reforms. With a turnout of approx. 51 percent, the party received the support of only 19 percent of all Polish voters. Low turnout is a political problem in Poland, but in this case it is considered particularly problematic. The party that won the election is committed to such sweeping reforms and is doing so in a rather aggressive way without having the necessary political mandate to do so.

In addition, the party is accused of hiding its real intentions during the election campaign.

What is happening in Poland affects not only domestic politics, but also the country’s relations with the outside world. Poland has been a member of NATO since 1999 and the EU since 2004. In order to join these two organizations, Poland had to meet political and economic requirements formulated in the 1990s.

• The EU has the so-called Copenhagen criteria from 1993
• NATO had accession requirements published in a 1995 study.

A common denominator for both the EU and NATO was that an aspirant must have institutions guaranteeing democracy sk governance, human rights and protection of minorities , live the rule of law sprinsipper , have a well-functioning market economy and be able to comply with the obligations that come with a membership.

In addition, the EU expects candidate countries to be willing to join the EU’s goal of political, economic and monetary union. NATO demanded that candidate countries first resolve all their internal and external conflicts, have civilian control over the armed forces and the ability and willingness to contribute to the Alliance’s collective security.

Both organizations present themselves as communities of values based on liberal-democratic principles, and both expect all member states to live up to these principles.

The way in which the PiS government has chosen to relate to these basic principles and in particular the attitude to the distribution of power between the legislative, executive and judicial powers has therefore already had consequences for Poland’s international position and reputation. How the crisis surrounding the Polish Constitutional Court is resolved will therefore be crucial not only for the way politics is conducted within the country, but also for Poland’s relations with the outside world.