Poland’s far right could be the next government’s kingmaker
It has hidden its extremist roots behind a free-market message
Pint by pint, Poland’s biggest far-right party is climbing in the polls. Slawomir Mentzen, its new co-leader, is staging lager-fuelled rallies across the country. Sparklers go off as he climbs on stage; his political stand-up routine ridicules all the mainstream parties. With a mostly male crowd cheering him on, the 36-year-old chugs down beers while extolling low taxes and deregulation—and saying surprisingly little about abortion or the eu.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Not small beer”
Europe August 19th 2023
- Germany is becoming expert at defeating itself
- Ukraine’s counter-offensive is making progress, slowly
- Poland’s far right could be the next government’s kingmaker
- How Russian prisoners of war see Putin’s invasion
- French bakeries are thriving in unlikely places
- Having shaken off nationalism, Europe risks civilisationalism
From the August 19th 2023 edition
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