ON PAPER, Poland has both a president and a prime minister. In practice, there is a third source of authority: Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the chairman of the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), who is widely seen as the country’s real leader. Since coming to power in 2015, PiS has tried to assert greater control over the country’s courts, its public broadcasters and its state-run enterprises. The European Commission accuses it of undermining the rule of law and has threatened it with the suspension of its voting rights. Yet PiS’s most recent problem with its court “reforms” comes not from EU officials or the opposition but from the president, Andrzej Duda.
In July, following widespread protests, Mr Duda unexpectedly used his power of veto on two controversial laws concerning the judiciary. Last month, he submitted alternative versions for parliament to consider. His draft laws, presented last month, tone down some of PiS’s most troublesome proposals. Rather than giving the...Continue reading
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