Poland Is Not Ready to Accept a New McCarthyism
AtlanticJun 05, 2023
On Sunday, an estimated half a million Poles marched through central Warsaw to protest against the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in the biggest demonstration since the fall of communism in 1989.
Held on the 34th anniversary of the landmark election that ended communist rule in Poland, the protests were organized by Donald Tusk, former prime minister and present leader of his Civic Platform (PO) party.
Fearing a loss of power in the upcoming elections, the PiS is seeking to subordinate the judiciary to elected politicians and promote culture wars to divide the nation again. The ad hoc, parliament-appointed commission will be able to break legal protections, reverse administrative decisions, and unilaterally cancel contracts on vague allegations of Russian influence. This is an attack on democracy.
Given its controversial nature, the Polish government had swiftly prepared a series of provisions to regulate or amend the most contentious issues in the legislation. As the proposed amendments, released on Friday, include barring the commission from banning politicians from public office, Sunday's protests were nothing but a march of hate.
There's a 71% chance that Law and Justice (PiS) will win the most seats in the 2023 Polish parliamentary (Sejm) elections, according to the Metaculus prediction community.