Kacper Jucha, 23’

    Poland is a former Eastern Bloc country, converted democrat, which is now slipping to authoritarianism. With the re-election of PIS into the government in 2020, Poland has started slipping further into an authoritarian rule of government. Some changes include: censored news, loss of division of powers, PIS controls almost everything. To all the people who are not familiar with PIS, PIS stands for “Prawo i Sprawiedliwość” or “Law and Justice.” As said in a Vox video, Poland seemed to be one of the most competent countries to escape the Eastern Bloc and promote democracy. Poland was one of the most enthusiastic candidates for joining the EU as the population seemed very accepting of this change and approved of the state of affairs, most likely due to the somewhat poor quality of life in Poland before joining the EU. PIS is able to further its regime-like control due to the Covid-19 pandemic. People rely on the government to provide resources, food, healthcare, and aid, meaning that it is even easier for governments to take total control since the people who require help do not have many options, they must look to the government. 

To truly understand how this situation came to be, a Vox Atlas video provides a brief history. Poland was invaded twice in the 20th century, once by the Nazis, the next by the Soviets. Poland was established as a communist state by the Soviets, cutting it off from the world. Closer to the end of the Soviet Union, in the 1980s the Polish people protested, under what is called “Solidarnosc” or Solidarity. This was a large movement that eventually led to Poland becoming the first country to free itself from communism in the eastern bloc. The EU, which had already formed a group of Western European countries, wanted to include these new democratic countries into the Union. However, this came with the requirements that these countries must respect Free Markets, Rule of Law, and Human Rights. Courts in the European Union needed to have “...independent and impartial courts...” 

With PIS in office, an authoritarian government has flourished, courts have been taken over by party officials, and there no longer seems to be a division of power. This issue of authoritarian leadership in Poland is not a recent issue. PIS was elected ~6 years ago and vowed to gain Polish independence from EU control, just as Poland had gained independence from the Soviet Union. However doing so, has violated the “Rule of Law” (fair trial). The party has furthered its efforts into creating a regime-like power through fining media agencies for covering protests, and covering anti-government events. The European Union, therefore, decided to enact Article 7, to strip Poland of its voting rights due to not following EU guidelines. However, in order for this to pass, all EU countries must vote unanimously. Hungary has voted against this resolution since it has vowed to stand by Poland. Hungary, in addition to Poland, has also taken an authoritarian stance, partly due to the pandemic and parliament allowing the prime minister to “rule by decree indefinitely” (Lawfare).

The EU has and is in somewhat of a crisis; with Poland not following rules, Britain leaving, and a somewhat lacking distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. This has not stopped PIS from further acting on its plans. PIS recently took away abortion rights, therefore women can only have an abortion if the pregnancy was a result of a crime, or if it poses a threat to health (BBC). This is largely limited to the previous abortion laws which existed in Poland prior to 2020. To put this into perspective, Poland’s age of consent is 15, and sex education is something that does not exist. PIS has also taken a fairly large anti-LGBTQ+ stance, which has invoked protests from both ends, those protesting for equal treatment and rights, and those against LGBTQ+. However, while keeping all these things in mind, PIS has granted $130 (500 Złotych) for every child in Poland. This may sound like very good benefits, but with Poland being quite a poor country compared to other European countries, Poland cannot afford such an amount for a sustained period of time. Therefore, prices have risen on simple products such as fruits and vegetables, as well as other consumer goods. Although these price hikes may not appear large to people living in the United States, a water bottle costs $0.25 in Poland, for the average household in Poland which makes 19,814 USD annually (OECD), this is quite the price to pay. Overall, the European Union and Poland both face problems; however, with its new authoritarian government, Poland seems to be edging closer to a less free society for its people.

Sources:

-OECD Better Life Index

-Poland is pushing the EU into crisis - YouTube

-Poland enforces controversial near-total abortion ban - BBC News

-Understanding Hungary’s Authoritarian Response to the Pandemic - Lawfare (lawfareblog.com)

-Personal experience, and information from Family/friends living in Poland