Europe | Charlemagne

Europe is using newfound powers to bring Poland into line

Other troublesome members may be next

MOST GOOD superhero movies have a scene in which the protagonist discovers—often after some freakish accident—that he or she has developed amazing new powers. The first attempts to use these new powers are unsatisfactory. Shirts are accidentally torn to shreds and bedrooms covered in spider-web. Given time, however, the new abilities are tamed, then mastered. Audiences soon forget how the unlikely powers were acquired and enjoy the crusade, caped or otherwise, for justice and order.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “A superhero sprouts in Brussels”

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From the February 19th 2022 edition

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