Tusk wins UK award for “commitment to restoring democracy in Poland”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has been awarded this year’s Chatham House Prize “in recognition of his commitment to restoring democracy in Poland, rebuilding institutions, and upholding the principles of the rule of law”.

The decision has, however, been criticised as a “joke” by figures from Poland’s former ruling Law and Justice (PiS), now in opposition. PiS was widely seen as having undermined democracy during its eight years in power, though it now accuses Tusk’s government of itself violating the rule of law.

The Chatham House Prize is awarded annually by leading British think tank the Royal Institute of International Affairs, which is more commonly known as Chatham House. Candidates are nominated by the organisation’s staff and a winner chosen in a vote by its members.

Last year’s prize went to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and previous recipients include Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (2011), charity Médecins Sans Frontières (2015) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (2018).

Presenting this year’s award, Chatham House’s president emeritus, former British prime minister John Major, called Tusk a “worthy recipient”, noting his “lifelong support of liberal democracy”, including as an opponent of Poland’s communist regime in his youth.

Major hailed Tusk for “shining a light on anti-democratic practices and being brave enough to reverse them in his own country against very hostile opposition”.

“I cannot stress how important this work has been, not only to Poland, but as an example to a much wider world”, where “democracy is in trouble” and “needs to be nurtured and reinforced”, added Major. “We need his brand of leadership in many countries.”

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Tusk himself did not collect the award in person, as he is preparing for a summit of European leaders hosted by new British prime minister Keir Starmer on Thursday. Foreign minister Radosław Sikorski received it on his behalf, reading a speech by Tusk.

Tusk called for liberal democrats to more forcefully “take up the fight in defence of our values and principles and today also in defence of our borders and territory”.

“The migration crisis in particular showed the scale of weakness of the liberal democratic camp,” he wrote. “People seek public authority that gives them a feeling of safety, that is able to protect the borders and the independence of the country, that is ready to resort to force in defence of its citizens and to enforce the rule of law.”

“Politics without strength is a pathetic spectacle,” declared Tusk. “And authority that is powerless or undecided in the face of evil is for ordinary people contemptible. Freedom, truth and rule of law will not defend themselves. We must fight for them every single day, and we must know how to win.”

Tusk formed a new ruling coalition that took power in December 2023 after eight years of rule by the national-conservative PiS that had seen Poland fall dramatically in international rankings of democracy, media freedom and the rule of law.

The new government has won praise from the European Union for its efforts to restore the rule of law. As a result, Brussels has this year ended its rule-of-law proceedings against Poland and unlocked billions of euros of funds frozen under the PiS government due to rule-of-law concerns.

However, many commentators have noted that, while Tusk’s coalition has presented plans to restore the rule of law, it has in practice done very little, partly because the presidency – and its veto powers – is still held by PiS ally Andrzej Duda.

PiS itself, meanwhile, accuses the Tusk government of violating democracy and the rule of law. It notes that some court rulings have rejected elements of the December takeover of public media (though others have gone in the government’s favour).

It also accuses the new authorities of using the justice system to mount a campaign of “political revenge” against former PiS officials and others associated with them. Some have even claimed to have been tortured in prison.

“Is this a joke?” Dariusz Matecki, an MP in the PiS caucus, asked Chatham House after it announced the award. “Donald Tusk is establishing a regime in Poland modeled on Alexander Lukashenko. Illegal takeover of the media, press agency, prosecutor’s office, repression of judges and opposition MPs.”

This week, a former deputy justice minister from the PiS government was taken into custody and presented with charges relating to his time in office.

However, yesterday a court ordered his release after it emerged that the politician enjoys immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

PiS figures have claimed that the episode is an example of how the new government is abusing the law for political purposes. But Tusk today argued that it shows independent courts working as they should.

“That is true testimony of change and your [his supporters’] victory,” he wrote.

Main image credit: KPRM (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.