Timothy Garton Ash
EU pressure won’t do it. But working
to bolster institutions will counter the erosion of democracy
A year ago I wrote a column warning about political developments in Poland, headlined “The pillars of Poland’s democracy are being destroyed”. There was angry reaction from supporters of Poland’s governing Law and Justice party (PiS), but a year later it’s shocking to see how far the pillars of liberal, pluralist democracy in Poland have been battered and shaken, though not yet destroyed.
When we apply the shorthand label “illiberal democracy” to Poland it is vital to distinguish between two different things. First, there is the ideological, cultural and policy agenda of the nationalist populist party that won both parliamentary and presidential elections in 2015.
This agenda might unkindly be described as systematic anti-liberalism with a seasoning of resentment and paranoia. I don’t like most of this PiS package, but a plurality of those who turned out to vote clearly did prefer it to the alternatives then on offer, and a victorious party has a right to implement its policies.
When we apply the shorthand label “illiberal democracy” to Poland it is vital to distinguish between two different things. First, there is the ideological, cultural and policy agenda of the nationalist populist party that won both parliamentary and presidential elections in 2015.
This agenda might unkindly be described as systematic anti-liberalism with a seasoning of resentment and paranoia. I don’t like most of this PiS package, but a plurality of those who turned out to vote clearly did prefer it to the alternatives then on offer, and a victorious party has a right to implement its policies.
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