Until recently, in Poland protesting was a domain of the older generation – with the sole exception of protest against ACTA, seen as an attack on the freedom of the internet in 2012, the average age of people going out to the streets to protests the government was probably somewhere around 45-50. With the creation […]
Essay
This is how “The Handmaid’s Tale” would begin if it was real.
Today, Polish constitutional tribunal ruled, that the termination of pregnancy when fetus is ill, deformed or unlikely to survive on it’s own is against Polish constitution. This was one of the three cases when abortion was legal in Poland (other two being when the baby is a result of a rape and if the mother’s […]
The Duda News channel – on the pro-PiS propaganda in Public Media
Following up PiS in Poland is a constant chain of being shocked with what they do, saying that this is unbelievable, briefly being unable to imagine how anyone could go a step further and then watching with disbelief as they go three steps further. I had yet another of such moments this week when I […]
Is Poland at the verge of becoming a fascist state?
I know that after over 125 pieces of my series “Meanwhile in Cuckooland”some people might be bored with all that Polish kerfuffle. Those who still follow the series might see me and my warning about fascist/authoritarian tendencies of the Polish government as that boy who cries “wolf”, as I constantly cry how Polish democracy is in […]
On relations between Poles and Jews
The topic of Polish-Jewish relations recently often draws international attention. Depending of who’s talking, we can hear about Polish anti-Semitism, Jewish anti-Polonism and attempts to rewrite history coming from everywhere. Infamous Polish law penalising attribution of Nazi crimes to Poles was met with the outrage after it was portrayed by Jewish communities as yet another […]
Can Scotland learn something from Slovakia?
Everyone has those few memories from childhood that stick out. One of mines is the day, when I was about 12 years old and for the first time become witness to serious discussion on the topic of foreign politics. My distant uncle, a prominent Slovakian politician, visited Poland somewhere in 1992. The adults – my […]
How propaganda works
Frankly speaking, I face a dilemma here: should I tackle this rubbish on, generating more visits to the right wing propaganda sites, or should I ignore it? I’ve decided, that from time to time I will do some little debunking of the right wing rubbish. Of course I am not that naive to think, that […]
Kaczyński’s Golem
I need to take break from my “Meanwhile in Cuckooland” series, as the matter in question is not funny. Jarosław Kaczyński rise to power was build on fuelling xenophobic moods in the society and flirting with extreme right. My first ever piece for Britske Listy was pointing out this very problem. Today, actions of PiS […]
Poland – a divided country
The construction of the alternative universe of PiS, that I described few years back in my first article for Britske Listy (English version here), was an overwhelming success. This system of interlocking conspiracy theories and alternative version of history appeals to many Poles, who believe in it. And “believe” is the right word here, as similarities […]
Polish media under fire. A great transformation, or a standard changing of the guard?
The overall transformation from public to national media seems to be an indispensable part of PiS’ “conservative revolution”. But Europe looks with worry upon the new Polish government’s introducing new laws, purging the public media and attempting to smother criticism. Changes have never been conducted with such great momentum, on such a scale and with […]