Poland, a half-finished democracy
Henarrow arrival of ultraconservative Karol Nawrocki In the Polish presidency, he proposes a cohabitation with Prime Minister Donald Tusk that could interrupt the relief and optimism of the EU, especially after the respite that it represented Victory of the pro-European Nicusor Dan in the Romanian presidential electionsThe emerging cohabitation—almost coexistence—expresses that Poland has fallen far short of being the EU's most solid pillar in the east, as Brussels desired. In Poland, the votes have maintained the format of social and geopolitical polarization, with large sectors of the middle classes betting on ultranationalism: now for Nawrocki, an admirer of Trump and MAGA, just as they had previously opted for Kaczynski's PiS. It doesn't matter.
legacy of illiberal obstacles left by President Andrzej Duda Nawrocki takes this with great pleasure, with the desire to intensify them, using the presidential veto as much as possible to influence the appointment of the military leadership, to limit the independence of the judiciary, and above all, to hinder the recognition of LGBTI rights and the law decriminalizing abortion. Polish women have made progress in their rights, but the extremists continue to target them. The days of the Kaczyński government warning that female journalists working for public radio—as I have explained on occasion—could not present news broadcasts during prime time because—according to the government's "commissars"—the female tone of voice diminished the credibility of the news have not been erased from the memory of Polish feminism.
Donald Tusk has not been able to fully recover the time lost during the ultranationalist period, in order to complete the reforms he had implemented after his electoral victory in the fall of 2023. vote of confidence announced by Tusk following Nawrocki's victory It expresses a certain impotence when it comes to consolidating Poland's democratic foundations. The swings and oscillations between European fervor and the ghosts of the past that Poland continues to drag around will therefore continue. It has nothing to do with the cohabitation of 1989, when the communist president—and high military commander—Wojciech Jaruzelski accepted Tadeusz Mazowiecki, one of the leaders of the opposition coalition Solidarnosc, as prime minister.
Always attentive to Trump
Karol Nawrocki will wield his powers, always attentive to what Trump says, while keeping his distance from Putin. He will not have the complicit tone of the Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán or the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Because it's one thing to refuse to engage in much business with Ukraine, to deny it the right to supply weapons, to close the door to NATO, to constantly complain about the influx of refugees, and quite another to ignore who can truly threaten Poland's borders. And who was the occupier from 1945 to 1989.
The MAGA movement appeals to many Poles, but Moscow remains frightening. The shadow of the four partitions of Poland between Russia, Germany, and Austria—in 1772, 1793, 1795, and 1939—looms large in memory, hampering political stability. Historical events have granted Poles very few opportunities to exercise their sovereignty, freedom, and personal rights. And that's why Poland, even in the midst of the EU, remains a half-finished democracy.