The Difficulties of Restoring Democracy in Poland

Summary:

Poland’s return to liberal democracy, after a period of severe backsliding under the government led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, was challenging. The new government, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, faced a daunting task: restoring democracy, while not undermining the rule of law any further in the process. During its first year in power, the government trod carefully, undoing the state’s capture of the public media, but failing to repair the political independence of the judiciary. And it did not respond to voter demands to bolster civil liberties and to amend Poland’s near-total ban on abortion – a key demand of female voters and young supporters of the coalition. Although Poland did not offer a straightforward success story, the EU and its member-states should pay close attention to what was happening there.

• Alternative Source 1

ESO Records

House of Commons Library Research Briefings: CBP-9868, Feb. 2024: Poland: The Law and Justice Government and relations with the EU, 2015-2023 https://www.europeansources.info/record/poland-the-law-and-justice-government-and-relations-with-the-eu-2015-2023/

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