Donald Tusk must undo years of populist subversion in Poland
The prime minister has a tough job restoring democracy and judicial independence
THE HANDOVER was just as bitter as the years-long political brawl that preceded it. After losing an election in October, Poland’s hard-right Law and Justice (PiS) party finally ceded power on December 12th to a coalition headed by Donald Tusk, a veteran former prime minister. After PiS lost a vote of confidence in parliament, the party’s leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, took to the lectern to call Mr Tusk “a German agent”—a puerile insult PiS used throughout the campaign, referring to Mr Tusk’s German ancestry and his experience as president of the European Council.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Return to the rule of law”
Europe December 16th 2023
From the December 16th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
Why Canada should join the EU
Europe needs space and resources, Canada needs people. Let’s deal
Elon Musk’s praise for the far right infuriates most of Germany
A badly written op-ed may have set the terms of the election campaign
Serbia and its neighbours are still far from joining the EU
Donald Trump could bring the region yet more upheaval
Finland seizes a tanker, getting tough on hybrid warfare
Russian-linked attacks on undersea infrastructure are rising
A Prague-Berlin train loses its old-world dining cars
The looming end of the Knödelexpress
Inside Ukraine’s secret missile programme
With foreign aid uncertain, Ukraine revives its rocket industry