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Time Online: Mrs Mienkowska, is Poland just abolishing rule of law?
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Renata Mienkowska: I’m afraid so. This is seen in reforms that have already been carried out and which are still planned. First, Government of Law and Justice Party (PiS) brought Constitutional Court under its control so that it could continue to break constitution without ever being stopped. Now same thing happens to Supreme Court. This will enable PiS-hearing judges to decide on legitimacy of elections in future. They have ir own people everywhere.
Time Online: Recently, Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki became new prime minister and dissolved popular Beata Szydło. Why?
Mienkowska: There is no immediate reason. Presumably, Morawiecki became new prime minister, because Jarosław Kaczyński, mighty PiS chief, is still pulling strings for a really long time and is now trying to consume someone else after Szydło. Morawiecki is next to stand for Kaczyński’s decisions and be whispered by him. It was no coincidence that government reshuffle and reform of judiciary were carried out almost simultaneously. So new prime Minister dominates media, not reform.
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Time Online: The PiS decides many reforms late at night when opposition and media representatives are no longer present to criticize. What about political culture?
Mienkowska: Unfortunately, re is no political culture. The opposition wanted to speak out in discussions on reform of judiciary, but y were not allowed to. They turned microphone off. There is no institutionalized opposition work, as is result of a strong shadow cabinet elsewhere. For criticism that is heard, almost only demonstrations remain. Many citizens, however, refuse to let a political party collect ir protest – and n no longer come. It’s a vicious circle.
Time Online: Despite all protests, PiS still remains at 40 to 45 percent in current surveys.
Renata Mienkowska
is a political scientist and sociologist at University of Warsaw and a lecturer at Institute of Communication at University of Vilnius. Her research interests include European Union, European law and civil society in post-Soviet countries.
Mienkowska: Their success is easy to explain: on one hand re is social economic policy: families are supported financially, retirement age has been reduced. But more important reason is patriotic narrative that stirs government: when we fight with EU, those in Brussels are bad guys who want to interfere in internal affairs of Poland, and not ourselves, which we break constitution.
Time Online: What about refugee me?
Mienkowska: The West is in end and morally decaying, says government. He would be responsible for terrorist attacks mselves, because borders were opened. Poland, on or hand, would not have let it be so far ahead.
Many see Poland today as a strong bulwark against supposed Islamization of Europe, like 1683, when an army under Polish leadership beat Ottomans at gates of Vienna. And this narrative works. I come from a small village, and people actually believe that absence of Syrian refugees protects us from all bad things in this world.
This does not stop millions of Poles from going to England and or Western countries to work and bring money home. This is Polish hypocrisy, which unfortunately is our own. Even though 85 percent indicate to be practicing Catholics, re is extraordinarily much domestic violence and or social problems. Even with charity and solidarity it is not far away. There’s something wrong.
