There
is no doubt regarding the political legitimacy of the new Polish government,
led by the Law and Justice Party (PiS). The voters gave PiS the largest number
of seats at the October 2015 general elections and naturally the party took
over the country´s government. The problem is a different one. There have been
a series of moves by the Cabinet that have raised serious question marks about
its approach to democratic governance in a European context. The legislative action it took against the
Constitutional Court´s independence is the best known example. But there are
several others, including smear campaigns against the civil society
organisations. And there have been also some grave attempts to bring under party
control some of the key positions in the defence sector.
The
European Commission has called the attention of the new authorities in Warsaw.
The same happened to the Council of Europe. But the PiS leadership seems to be
in its own planet, not in the EU, and has paid no real attention to the advice.
That should be considered worrying.
It
would be a serious mistake – one more, taking into consideration several other blunders
made in other political areas – to let it go. The European institutions have to
be very clear in their political dialogue with Warsaw to ensure that respect
for the opposition and plurality of opinions are fully accepted by PiS. The EU
should also insist on keeping the Polish key institutions stable and free of
partisan meddling. Any weaker approach on the Brussels side would encourage
other governments elsewhere to follow the path that the Warsaw authorities are
now pursuing. And that would add serious additional challenges to a union that
is already under severe stress.
