Aleks Szczerbiak

Aleks Szczerbiak is professor of politics at the University of Sussex.

Sunday

Aleks Szczerbiak

Poles are tiring of Donald Tusk

From our UK edition

In December 2023, a new coalition government led by Donald Tusk – former Polish prime minister, former European Council president – was sworn in, ending the eight-year rule of the right-wing Law and Justice party. Tusk leads the liberal Civic Platform, and his new coalition includes the eclectic Third Way alliance made up of the Polish Peasant party and Poland 2050, along with the smaller New Left party. Last month marked the first anniversary of the Tusk government taking office, and opinion surveys say that most Poles are disappointed with its performance. A United Surveys poll found that 51 per cent of respondents see the Tusk government negatively (21 per cent very negatively) compared with only 40 per cent who held a positive view (6 per cent very positive).

Friday

Aleks Szczerbiak

How immigration came to define the Polish elections

From our UK edition

Poland is heading for a highly divisive and polarised election on October 15th. The country’s right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has ruled since 2015, is highly critical of the institutions and elites that emerged following the collapse of communism in 1989. And it has broken with the Polish foreign policy consensus pursued by previous governments, accusing them of aligning too closely with Berlin and failing to stand up for Poland’s interests within the EU.  As a consequence, Law and Justice has come in for heavy criticism from both its domestic opponents and the EU political establishment for undermining democracy and the ‘rule of law’, particularly for its judicial reforms.

Thursday

Aleks Szczerbiak

The war is redefining Poland’s place in the world

From our UK edition

The Polish government has for years been something of a pariah on the liberal international stage. Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, which is firmly on the political right, is at odds with the EU establishment, particularly over its judicial reforms, which critics say will threaten the key democratic principle of separation of constitutional powers. The EU accuses Poland of undermining the ‘rule of law’ and the European Commission is, as a result, withholding the billions of euros that Poland is due from the Union’s coronavirus recovery fund. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could transform all that. The war raises some almighty diplomatic, economic, security and humanitarian challenges for Poland as Ukraine’s neighbour.