President Duda’s Veto

Reform of the judical law in Poland

President Andrzej Duda. Source: EPA.

By Stanley Bill

Two days ago President Andrzej Duda astonished both politicians and pundits by vetoing 2 of 3 controversial judicial reform acts proposed by the Polish government. In his justification, Duda indirectly attacked the Justice Minister – who is also the Public Prosecutor General – for attempting to acquire undue influence over the judicial system. Inspired by the advice of veteran “Solidarity” campaigner Zofia Romaszewska, Duda argued that “in the Polish constitution and in the Polish constitutional system the Public Prosecutor General has never had any supervision over the Supreme Court.” In a possible clue to a more personal motivation, he also expressed his disappointment that he had not been consulted – presumably by the Justice Ministry – during the preparation of the bill.

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What Does Jarosław Kaczyński Want? : Poland and the Rule of Law

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Jarosław Kaczyński.        Source: Agencja Gazeta

By Stanley Bill

In the Polish parliament’s recent passing of three controversial judicial reform bills, it is easy to point to two interrelated motivations: (1) a naked power grab from the Law and Justice (PiS) party; and (2) an attempt to hobble institutions that have ruled against the party’s legislative proposals in the past and posed a threat to its key members. However, these potential motivations are less important than the background of a consistent ideological program propounded by PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński and his allies since 1989. The current legislative attack on judicial independence – including the anticipated dismissal of the entire Supreme Court – is part of a much broader plan for radical change. Kaczyński’s position has been unwavering: Poland’s state institutions need a revolution.

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Forcing refugees on Poland will do more harm than good

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By Daniel Tilles

The dispute within the EU over the relocation of refugees from Greece and Italy to other countries is now reaching a head, pitting eastern member states, who refuse to take in their allocated share, against their western partners. Following recent calls from the likes of Sweden and Finland to punish those who fail to play their part in easing the burden of the migration crisis, the European Commission today began legal proceedings against Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

This is a terrible idea. Continue reading →

A Brief History of Modern Polish Literature

monument-1142774_1280By Stanley Bill

The British Council recently set Notes from Poland editor Stanley Bill the fiendishly difficult task of summarizing the history of modern Polish literature in a mere 800 words for the Poland Market Focus at the London Book Fair 2017.

Bill argues that writers have wielded unusual power in Poland’s dramatic and often painful history: “To see this importance, we need look no further than the Polish city of Krakow. On the main square of the former royal capital, in the space of greatest symbolic significance, we find not a monument to a king or statesman or warrior, but a statue of the Romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz. In Poland, the writer has often been sovereign.”

To read the rest of the article on the British Council website, click here.

The Strong and the Weak: Poland and the New International Order

Trump addresses the Polish National Alliance in Chicago, U.S.

President Donald Trump speaks to the Polish National Alliance in Chicago. [Source: Reuters]

By Stanley Bill

Donald Trump and Steve Bannon are in the White House. The British parliament has given Theresa May the signal to start Brexit negotiations. Populist forces are surging in France, the Netherlands, and other parts of Europe. Russia is emboldened. The liberal consensus of globalism and international cooperation seems to be faltering, as national movements gain traction. The end of an era could mean a return to a less ceremonious contest between the strong and the weak. This would be bad news for Poland. So why has Warsaw been part of the trend? 

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“It’s hard not to think of Russia”: Concern over Polish government’s move to “bring order” to NGOs

z20979041vbeata-szydloBy Daniel Tilles

Poland’s media and civil society have reacted with concern to Prime Minister Beata Szydło’s announcement that the government wants to bring NGOs under more centralised control, because, in her view, too many of them are still ‘subordinate to the policies of the previous ruling system’.

To this end, her office is in the process of establishing a Department of Civil Society which will be responsible for ‘bringing order to the whole sphere’ of NGOs. It will collect and disburse all money intended for such organisations, and set goals for their work.

Leaving little doubt as to the purpose of this move, Szydło says that, although NGOs should ideally not be under government control, ‘it turns out we have not yet got to the moment at which politicians do not want to control social organisations’. Continue reading →

New film on Wołyń massacres unites Poles in praise – but reconciliation with Ukraine will be harder

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By Daniel Tilles

In Poland’s deeply polarised society, it is rare these days for anything to bridge the country’s social, cultural and political divides. However, a new film about the WW2 Wołyń massacres by director Wojciech Smarzowski appears set to achieve this, winning rave reviews across Polish media after its screening at the Gdynia film festival, writes Daniel Tilles. Continue reading →