What’s happening in Poland?

What’s happening in Poland?

Friday, 6 May 2016 - 12:30pm to 2:30pm
Venue: 
Seminar Room, European Studies Centre, St Anotny's College
Speaker(s): 
Professor Aleksander Smolar
Chair: 
Professor Timothy Garton Ash
Series: 
POMP Event

Since October 2015 when Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc) won parliamentary elections in Poland, the country's new politics has become a subject of vast controversy. The conflict about the Constitutional Tribunal, factual liquidation of the civil service, deep polarization of the political scene, massive demonstrations of the opposition - these are just a few most debated topics. Is it true that Poland is about to turn away from the democratic path on which it embarked in 1989? How is it possible that Polish voters have chosen a government that is overtly eurosceptic and critical towards the 27 years of democratic Poland?