Poland Was Never as Democratic as It Looked: What the EU Got Wrong in Eastern Europe

One election, it seems, really can change everything. Once feted for having bucked both the populist trend and the global recession, Poland is facing international condemnation. Recent moves by the Law and Justice government have come straight out of the playbook shared by the likes of Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban. It’s moved quickly to neuter the constitutional court; to take control of the state media; to defund unfriendly NGOs or regulate them into irrelevance; to put its own people in charge of public institutions; and has given every sign of being prepared to ride out waves of protests and ignore international criticism. Recent footage of opposition deputies occupying the podium of the Sejm and chaotic and hastily convened parliamentary voting by government deputies in back rooms was more reminiscent of the crisis-hit democracies of southern and southeastern Europe than the democratic trailblazer once hailed by European Union heavyweights.