Democracy Digest: Poland Closer to Getting Hands on EU Recovery Cash

To get the law through, the ruling Law and Justice {PiS} even rejected some amendments proposed by MPs from the party of hardline Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro. On Wednesday night, it seemed the Justice Ministers' crowd was ready to let this one go in the name of, as they said, "a far-reaching compromise". Ziobro's people are forced, of course, to let this pass because otherwise the governing coalition could collapse and they, in the event of early elections, might find themselves out of parliament. They need PiS more than it needs them, it seems.

A few polls published in the last few weeks indicate that the Polish opposition stands a solid chance of beating PiS if united. Experts point out the limited predictive power of such polls, arguing that unifying the opposition changes campaign dynamics in unpredictable ways. But there's increasing talk of unity among the opposition, with a big question whether to have one opposition bloc (as in Hungary, where the opposition were trounced) or two opposition blocs that would come together post-election (as in the successful Czech case). Donald Tusk, leader of Civic Platform, still the main opposition actor, has begun criss-crossing Poland, targeting smaller localities where his party is usually weak. The next general election is not supposed to take place until autumn 2023, but with the governing coalition so fragile everyone in Poland seems to be entering campaigning mode already in the expectation of early elections.

People protest during a rally against police in Teplice, Czech Republic, 26 June 2021. Hundreds of people remembered slain Roma, Stanislav Tomas, who died in the city a week ago shortly after being arrested by police. Photo: EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEK Ukrainian Roma victimised again;...