The dust after Brexit is slowly settling down. Of course, though, everyone still discusses it. My pro-Brexit friends still use every opportunity to point out the flaws in the European Union. It’s usually just a few things — mostly about migration and limiting sovereignty. Some, when pushed, admit that “actually the European Union is not […]
politics
So what was your cunning plan, Brexiters?
On our way to work on Friday morning my girlfriend and me listened to interview with some Leave campaign leader in BBC4. She argued that United Kingdom should not rush to leave European Union, as if it does, it will have no say on many important issues. We both laughed out loudly – isn’t she […]
Brexit: Are Poles in the UK really the ones who should worry?
With Brexit becoming a reality, there is a lot of talk about Poles needing to worry about their future. But are we really the ones who should be afraid of things to come? The first thing that came to my mind on Friday morning was that frame from an old French comic book in which […]
What has happened to ‘better together’ suddenly?
When it comes to Europe, Poland and Britain in 2016 have one thing in common: Attitudes to Europe. It’s not “we Europeans”. It’s “We, the greatest nation ever, versus THEM”. If you read the right-wing media of both countries, you might get the feeling that the European Union is some kind of enemy. They send […]
Is fuelling hate in Poland PiS’s way to toughen its power?
The situation that had place in Warsaw is really a sad illustration of the current anti-migrants tensions in Poland. On the huge district heating pipe a mural (or rather “rural” – from Polish rura – pipe) was painted. It depicted kids of all nations and races holding hands. Soon the painting became a target of […]
Poles at the polls: Voting on two passports
Scotland is preparing for new elections to the Holyrood parliament. You might think that just a while ago, we voted for Westminster MPs and that was just after the dust had settled on the independence referendum. That seems a tight election calendar. But if you are a Pole living in the UK, this is only […]
Why I stopped writing about Polish politics for a while
One of my readers e-mailed me with question why I am not writing about Polish politics for Britske listy any more. He said that there is so much going on in Poland and that the coverage in Czech media is pretty chaotic. The fact is that I gave up covering this events not only on […]
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 […]
20 miles to heaven
Mariusz “Pudzian” Pudzianowski, a former strongman champion and MMA fighter owns a transport company. Annoyed by the situation in which migrants in Calais try get past that last 20 miles that separate them from Great Britain by breaking into the lorries and by the fact that hauliers are left to face the consequences (including a hefty fines […]