When Donald Tusk first won power in Poland in 2007, its media described his approach toward rivals as the “politics of love.” Things are very different now.
The returning veteran of Polish centrism, who formed a coalition government after an impressive election result last year, has surprised critics and even many supporters with a confrontational approach towards Law and Justice (PiS), the populist group he defeated.
This time, Tusk has moved “as quickly and decisively as possible” in tackling the gargantuan task of undoing PiS’ illiberal and far-reaching changes to the Polish state – an agenda he and his supporters say will restore Poland’s democratic institutions.
PiS protected its changes to the state by stuffing legal and decision-making bodies with loyalists, and the PiS-aligned President Andrzej Duda is expected to block legislative attempts to undo those reforms.
Tusk fanned the flames of Poland’s societal divide with his early moves on public television – an “egg-breaking” approach to restoring democracy that critics say mirrors the methods of his populist rivals.
The agency is widely dismissed as an effort by PiS to cement its influence over public media while creating the semblance of independence in how it is governed; but its creation was nonetheless codified in law, so to dismantle it would require Duda’s sign-off.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters at a joint news conference with Tusk last month: “I welcome your commitment to put the rule of law at the top of your government’s agenda… we will need to make up for lost time.”
The original article contains 1,635 words, the summary contains 230 words. Saved 86%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The returning veteran of Polish centrism, who formed a coalition government after an impressive election result last year, has surprised critics and even many supporters with a confrontational approach towards Law and Justice (PiS), the populist group he defeated.
This time, Tusk has moved “as quickly and decisively as possible” in tackling the gargantuan task of undoing PiS’ illiberal and far-reaching changes to the Polish state – an agenda he and his supporters say will restore Poland’s democratic institutions.
PiS protected its changes to the state by stuffing legal and decision-making bodies with loyalists, and the PiS-aligned President Andrzej Duda is expected to block legislative attempts to undo those reforms.
Tusk fanned the flames of Poland’s societal divide with his early moves on public television – an “egg-breaking” approach to restoring democracy that critics say mirrors the methods of his populist rivals.
The agency is widely dismissed as an effort by PiS to cement its influence over public media while creating the semblance of independence in how it is governed; but its creation was nonetheless codified in law, so to dismantle it would require Duda’s sign-off.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters at a joint news conference with Tusk last month: “I welcome your commitment to put the rule of law at the top of your government’s agenda… we will need to make up for lost time.”
The original article contains 1,635 words, the summary contains 230 words. Saved 86%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!