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How far can a liberal democratic government go in using unorthodox tactics to dismantle an “illiberal” system? Poland’s premier Donald Tusk faces this question as he tries to restore the rule of law after eight years in power for the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party — and it has broad resonance given the rise of illiberal populists in many democracies. The scale of the task in wrenching key institutions out of the hands of PiS appointees, and in the face of a president who is siding with the opposition, means the ends so far justify the means. Tusk has stayed within the spirit of the law. But he must proceed with care to avoid inflaming divisions in a highly polarised society.
The month since Tusk was sworn in has been turbulent. His coalition has put three state media companies into insolvency to allow a relaunch aimed at ending their role as crude propaganda tools for PiS. It has fired a PiS-appointed national prosecutor and tried to investigate the PiS-appointed central bank governor. Two PiS lawmakers convicted of abuse of office sought refuge in the presidential palace but were arrested when the president, Andrzej Duda, left for a meeting. Duda says Tusk is violating the rule of law just as the premier long accused PiS of doing.
Such claims of equivalence are entirely false. The Tusk administration had no choice but to find innovative ways to unwind PiS’s changes — as with public media — since Duda can veto its legislation, and it must cohabit with him at least until presidential elections next year. Poland’s president is supposed to be a balancing figure. Duda has instead thrown in his lot with his old party, PiS — and PiS spent its final days in office putting in place blocking mechanisms aimed at thwarting Tusk’s overhaul.
Tusk and his allies learnt lessons, too, from their failure when they first came to office in 2007 to act quickly enough to combat the pernicious effects of two years of prior rule by PiS. The changes PiS has wrought today after eight years in power go far deeper. Poland’s prime minister is under pressure to deliver on electoral promises to restore a law-based state and unlock billions of euros of frozen EU funds. He has rightly identified state media, prosecutors and the judiciary as institutions where PiS’s grip must quickly be broken to rebuild their independence.
Polish civil society, which survived the PiS years, can be relied on to keep the Tusk team under scrutiny — and to challenge fake narratives from the opposition; it already debunked the claim that the two convicted PiS lawmakers were “political prisoners”.
Yet if democracy is to take root in Poland long-term, the new government has to act with responsibility and restraint. It cannot be seen to be cutting legal corners. As it removes PiS lackeys from state institutions and companies, it must refrain from substituting its own loyalists but choose independent-minded figures.
New managers of state TV news channels must turn them into genuinely impartial outlets. And the government should choose its battles with care. Exposing corruption or abuse of office by PiS figures is important; those who trusted the avowed “patriotism” and anti-elitism of PiS may start to balk if evidence of self-dealing becomes clear. But targeting central bank president Adam Glapiński for allegedly using monetary policy as a political tool of the former government risks antagonising EU authorities for limited gain.
Like Viktor Orbán’s Hungary or Trump-era America, Poland is a divided society. Restoring the independence of the courts and state TV — still the main news source for many Poles — are vital first steps in bridging divisions. But as it does so, the Tusk government must take care to avoid any appearance of acting in the same manner as its predecessor.
