A week after the seizure of power in Poland, the prime minister’s pro-European bloc emerges Donald Tusk already had a tough encounter ultraconservative forces Having held power for eight years and especially with the president, Andrzej Duda, originates from these ranks. This is because it was Tusk’s first step to dismantle the media environment currently controlled by the opposition party. Law and Justice (PiS), dismissed the leaders of public broadcaster TVP, PAP news agency and state radio RP.
Following this decision made by the Ministry of Culture on Wednesday, a symbolic rally in solidarity format was held in front of the TVP headquarters by PiS MPs, including the party leader. Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Some of the concentrates spent the night in the facilities. More serious in terms of Tusk’s plans is Duda’s criticism of the new Government for “violating the Constitution” and “destroying the media environment”.anarchy“.
This is just an appetizer of the obstacles the current prime minister will foreseeably encounter in his aim to return Poland to the path of democratic structures. 100 point plan with it he invested in the Parliament (Sejm). This is not just an abstract goal, but also recovery funds Post-pandemic that has left Brussels behind for years. Tusk, leader of the liberal Civic Platform (PO), managed to seize power with the support of two other pro-European alliances, the Third Way and the leftist Lewica.
Complex coexistence between competitors
restructuring of public mediaTransforming PiS into platforms at its disposal is one of its priorities. judicial reform He was promoted under the leadership of Kaczynski’s party. The new Administration has already started working on this goal, which is another key point in the constant conflict with the European Commission (EC) that marked the period dominated by PiS. According to Brussels, the ultra-conservative reform violated the principle of judicial independence.
It took Tusk two months to take office, as Duda entrusted the formation of the new Government to the then Prime Minister for the first time. Mateusz Morawiecki, from PiS. The president argued that PiS was the force with the most votes, even though it was clear that this would be a failed attempt because it did not have the majority or allies it needed.
Tusk’s bloc has a solid majority in the Sejm, which he chairs, with 248 out of a total of 460 seats Szymon Holownia, the leader of one of the centrist Third Way formations that is its main ally. But even this does not guarantee that he can achieve all his goals: It is up to Duda to approve and sign most of the laws passed by the parliament. President Duda took office as a PiS candidate in 2015, but officially abandoned militancy when he took over the presidency. The next presidential election is planned to be held in 2025. At least until then, Tusk will have a difficult task: to live together suspiciously
How to clean media device
Tusk has made clear his aim to “clean up” the public media landscape. The liberal prime minister announced that there would be no budget allocation for TVP next year, as well as the dismissal of senior managers of the radio and television channel and news agency who were deemed “submissive” to PiS. Accusing the new parliamentary majority of implementing laws that ignore the Polish Constitution, Duda described this situation as “immoral”.
The symbolic occupation of the headquarters of public television was followed this Thursday by the virtual disconnection of TVP, which stopped broadcasting all its programs and showed a still image with its logo on the screen.
hostility to public institutions It has gone beyond politics towards the current prime minister. In the last general elections, PiS identified itself as “Russian agent“and then we continued”“loyal servant of Brussels”For his term as president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019. Dismissal of radio and television executives, Hundreds of journalists were dismissedIn addition to opening the file regarding the claim mismanagement And abuse of power.