Political Strife in Poland: Clash between Law and Justice party and current government

Warsaw, Poland: The German newspaper “Sueddeutsche Zeitung” comments on Friday on the situation in Poland after President Andrzej Duda pardoned convicted PiS politicians Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik. Immediately after their release from prison, both “issued threats against Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the Marshal of the Sejm,” Szymon Hołownia, notes correspondent Viktoria Grossmann. She adds that PiS, sitting in opposition, does not recognize the expiration of Kamiński and Wąsik’s mandates following their final conviction by the court and “once again caused quite a stir at the Sejm meeting on Thursday.”

“This is exactly what the PiS party wants: to provoke unrest, cause a scene, and spread a sense of chaos. The subtext is as follows: please, our country is democratic, there are free elections, Tusk won them. But you see for yourselves, he cannot govern. Nothing works. So choose us again. For example, in the local elections in April, and then again in the European elections in June. And then a PiS candidate in the presidential elections in 2025,” writes Grossmann.

The author wonders, who will be this PiS candidate for president? “On closer inspection, PiS seems quite chaotic. Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, an anti-EU dogmatist symbolizing the politicization of the judiciary, has not been seen for weeks. Apart from party leader Jarosław Kaczyński, whose attacks, including gutter tirades, have dropped to a level of apparent helplessness, recently, second-tier politicians are speaking out more often. Former leaders are keeping somewhat aloof. And the fact that PiS has the president on its side is significant, but much less so than a few months ago,” adds the German journalist.

Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik may return to the defendant’s bench In her opinion, PiS “obstructs the new government as much as it can.” “The fact is also that primarily the new Tusk government is causing trouble for PiS and its people, whom the party placed in state institutions, offices, and courts,” comments Grossmann.

She notes that new suspicions are already arising against both just-pardoned politicians, while various investigative commissions reveal where money was wasted, illegal contracts made, or simply actions taken for personal benefit. “It is possible that Kamiński and Wąsik will soon sit on the defendant’s bench again, followed by other PiS politicians,” writes the “SZ” journalist. She adds that work is underway on changes in the “PiS judiciary” and the “scrutinizing” of cultural institutions, including the control of allocation and use of funds.

“Sueddeutsche Zeitung”: The government of Donald Tusk has already achieved something “In just a few weeks, the Tusk government calmed down truck drivers, carriers, and farmers enough that they removed their pickets at the border crossings with Ukraine. Tusk was in Kyiv this week. And a week and a half ago, he announced that women will once again be able to buy the ‘morning-after pill’ without a prescription. This will help many women who want to prevent pregnancy and somewhat free them from the control that the PiS government essentially imposed on them. The budget bill is also ready,” lists Viktoria Grossmann.

And she adds: “Contrary to what PiS hoped for, this government under great pressure of success has achieved something in its first six weeks, despite constant maneuvers to hinder and attacks.”

“Sometimes it even uses legally questionable tactics. However, contrary to what PiS accuses it of and what PiS itself did, the Tusk government does not act only for itself. It acts for everyone. This government wants to be controlled. By an independent Constitutional Tribunal and by free media. Thus, it demonstrates that the separation of powers is not a weakness. It makes society stronger,” concludes the German journalist.