Poland Experiences Growing Nationalism
October 26, 2015 saw a dramatic shift in the paradigm of Polish politics. Only the Solidarity party had ever won an outright electoral victory before last year; yet on that day, the right-wing and eurosceptic Law and Justice Party (PiS) claimed a victory with a total of 235 seats in the Sejm, the lower house of Parliament, and 61 in the Senate. In the past year, Poland has abandoned its central and progressive platform in the European Union. Now Poland seems to be at the center of a conservative attempt to reform the EU. Poland has joined other member states, including Hungary, to prevent the entry of migrants and has rejected EU refugee quotas. In May, Jarowslaw Kaczinskyi, Leader of PiS, stated that Poland would not take a single refugee, as “there was no acceptable mechanism that would ensure safety.”
PiS’s electoral success last year reversed the previous government’s plan to accept 7,000 refugees as a part of the European Union’s migrant quotas across the continent. This was to the delight of other members of Poland’s pre-European alliance bloc, the Visegrad Group.
PiS Justice Minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, has rebuked proposals by the EU to seek payments of €250,000 per asylum seeker from countries that refuse to accept their allocation of migrants as an attempt “to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.”
In the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, Prime Minister Beata Szydło said about immigration into Poland, “I say very clearly that I see no possibility at this time of immigrants coming to Poland.”
Along with members of the Baltic States, Poland has pressured the EU Commission for tougher foreign policy in reaction to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Following the start of the Ukrainian conflict in 2014, fears grew in Poland about potential Russian aggression. As a result, over 100,000 people have joined paramilitary organizations throughout the country. The government plans to incorporate up to 35,000 members into a Territorial Defence Force. Groups such as the Strzelec Rifleman’s Association are made up of ordinary citizens and are designed to deter the hybrid warfare that has been seen in Eastern Ukraine.
Member of Parliament Karol Pierzchałka stated that the purpose of such groups is “getting some training to ensure we can survive on our own.”
Polish authorities have called for greater cooperation between NATO members in the face of Russian aggression. General Ben Hodges, Commander of U.S. Army Europe, confirmed reports of both a heavy armor brigade and combat aviation brigade moving to Western Poland in spring 2017.
Domestically, PiS has sought internal reforms. In January, President Andrea Dudja signed into law a proposal to put Polish state media under the control of the Treasury. Polish authorities have suggested that this move was to ensure the impartiality of journalists in the media. The reality of this measure would make the dismissal of journalists a matter for Polish government officials, rather than media organizations themselves.
The EU has opposed not only Poland’s media reform but also its reform of the constitutional court. PiS dismissed five judges appointed by the previous government and forbade the court from presiding over cases that are critical of the government’s new executive powers. Such moves evoked a strong official response from the European Commision.
European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans discussed the judicial reforms, saying, “To be a member of the EU means you have to have independence of the judiciary, that is the core issue here.”
PiS has taken Polish policy away from that of the Weimar Triangle, traditionally consisting of Poland, France, and Germany. Poland’s government is creating policy around its nationalistic ideology and taking advantage of its secure hold on the presidency, legislature, judiciary, and media. A strong Poland could lead an opposition bloc within the European Union, creating a Europe more consolidated around the ideas of national sovereignty and opposition to Russia.