Message from the Director

A toxic mix of xenophobia, populism and nationalism seems to be gaining currency in far-flung corners of the world—witness the primary season in the United States, and recent elections in countries as diverse as Hungary, Japan, Austria and the Philippines—and alas, Poland seems to have succumbed to it. The right-wing party Prawo i Sprawedliwosc (Right and Justice, or PiS) swept into office in October with a mandate that no Polish government has enjoyed since 1989, controlling both houses of parliament and the presidency, and immediately announced that it intended to put its stamp on Polish society. Its political program consists of populism (tax cuts and spending increases), nationalism (banning immigration, denying refugee status, and taking a more confrontational foreign policy) and fidelity to a highly conservative interpretation of Catholic doctrine. After the modern, pro-European liberalism of the Tusk government, this has been a shock to the Polish public. Recent weeks have seen large protest demonstrations against the government in Warsaw and other cities.

Early policy initiatives have been in cultural politics. The government asserted sweeping control over the state-owned media and other publicly-funded cultural institutions by firing their leadership and replacing them with political appointees. Poland has enjoyed the most dynamic and creative film industry in central Europe in the last decade, and we at the Skalny Center have been proud to showcase many contemporary masterpieces in our annual Film Festival. We hope to be able to do so in the future, as well, but early indications are that the government intends to ban films on controversial subjects, such as recent films that we screened that explored homosexuality, transgender issues, and Poland’s Jewish cultural legacy. Poland has always produced retrospective films on important historical themes, such as the masterful film we screened this year on the Warsaw Uprising, but indications are that the new government may not allow its filmmakers to work on anything else. Meanwhile, the government’s legislative agenda includes closing the few remaining exceptions to the ban on abortion and rolling back rights for homosexuals.

Most disturbing of all, the government of Beata Szydlo has moved to stifle independent voices in the political system, including the media, the independent central bank, and the Constitutional Tribunal. Poland’s highest court has traditionally balanced the extremes of party politics, but the government has launched a full-scale attack on its independence. First, the government attempted to pack the Court by appointing five new members; then it threatened to fail to recognize appointments made by the previous government; finally, the parliament, or Sejm, has moved to change Court procedures in ways that are calculated to paralyze it, and prevent it from ruling new legislation unconstitutional. The Court issued a ruling overturning the new legislation, but the government refused to print the ruling, claiming that this renders it invalid. In reviewing the crisis, the Venice Commission, a group of legal experts that advises the Council of Europe, announced that “not only is the rule of law in danger, but so are democracy and human rights.” The European Commission, meanwhile, issued an official warning to Poland that tampering with the independence of its high court poses “a systemic risk to the rule of law.” This is the first time that the Commission has exercised its prerogative to investigate a member country for failure to uphold the rule of law. The Commission went on to threaten that failing to comply with European democratic norms could lead to the suspension of Poland’s voting rights in the EU. Enforcing this threat may prove to be difficult, however, because Hungary’s conservative prime minister, Viktor Orban, has pledged to stand shoulder to shoulder with his compatriots in Poland to block action in the European Council.

Marchers in Gdańsk on Feb. 28 protesting changes to the Constitutional Tribunal. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Poland’s confrontation with the EU comes at a time when Europe is already strained on numerous fronts and badly in need of cool-headed leadership of the sort that Poland’s liberal former prime minister Donald Tusk provided. Britain votes on Brexit at the end of June, and the unity of Europe will be shaken regardless of the outcome. The Eurozone countries remain divided by their common currency, which has plunged half of Europe into a desperate recession and left the other half fearing for the security of its retirement savings. Russia continues to loom as an ominous threat to the East, and Europe is not entirely united about its posture towards the continuing conflict in Ukraine and about continuing sanctions against Russia. Above all, the flood of refugees from the territories that were Syria and Libya before their states collapsed has provoked hysterical responses across Europe and bolstered the standing of politicians on the far right of the European political spectrum. In turn, the surge in nationalist opinion has strained the liberal consensus on refugee rights and on migration more generally, which was at the core of the project of European integration.

Cooler heads will probably prevail, as they usually do in Europe. The center would become increasingly difficult to hold, however, if the United States joined the trend and elected a xenophobic, populist nationalist leader of our own.

Randall W. Stone is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Skalny Center.