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IMAGO / Eastnews

Country reports

Difficult change: From the PiS state back to the rule of law

by Dr. Piotr Womela, David Gregosz

Fifty turbulent days for the new coalition

The parliamentary elections on October 15, 2023 have fundamentally changed the face of the Polish political scene. With a record voter turnout of over 73%, the national-conservative government, formed by the Law and Justice party (PiS), was deposed and the four liberal democratic coalition parties (Civic Platform - PO, Polska 2050, Polish People's Party - PSL and the New Left) won overall 248 mandates in the 460-seat Sejm. Nevertheless, the PiS remains the strongest faction in parliament with 194 seats. In his first government statement in December, new Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced his cabinet's priorities, which are to restore the rule of law and return Poland to the European family.

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In order to restructure the Polish judiciary, it is not only necessary to make far-reaching changes to the law, which require the approval of the President. A consensus between politicians, judges and prosecutors across party lines is also necessary in order to sustainably preserve the democratic legal system.

At the moment, however, everything looks like a continued culture war, as evidenced by the dispute over the current budget law or the debate about the future of public broadcasting.

The full-lenght publication is only available in German.

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Contact

David Gregosz

David Gregosz bild

Director KAS office Poland

David.Gregosz@kas.de +48 22 845-9330

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