Law and Justice

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Those three are Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska from the centrist Civic Coalition, Wladyslaw Kosianiak-Kamysz from the agrarian Polish People's Party and independent Szymon Holownia. 

Jitters in the PiS camp were confirmed by party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski himself during an interview published on February 26 by Gazeta Polska, a magazine considered friendly to the right-wing government. 

According to an "Atlas of Hate" map created by activists, an area greater than the size of Hungary has effectively become an "LGBT-free zone" in the heart of Central Europe. Campaigners and international bodies including the European Parliament have condemned the resolutions, saying they are discriminatory and undermine LGBT rights.

Immediately following Macron's visit, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a "muzzle" law that empowers the government to punish judges for acting independently.

Duda then added insult to injury by hosting the president of North Macedonia, a country that has its own dispute with France following Macron's decision to block its EU accession bid.

When the populist PiS first gained power in 2015, it was able to pass controversial justice reforms literally overnight. But the new balance of power means it will have to sweat a bit more to pursue a strategy widely condemned as an attack on judicial independence.

"In many families I'm in touch with, kids ended up needing therapy to be able to cope with the pressure. We've heard from parents whose children were suffering so much they tried to commit suicide."

We all know how that turned out.

The materialistic United States, which Rifkin expected to be eclipsed by Europe, was better able to weather the financial crisis. Brexit, the crises in Greece and Catalonia, and the implosion of liberal democracy in Central and Eastern Europe have highlighted the shortcomings of unity in diversity.

The Supreme Court of that country issued this statement.
The statement points out that these plans are contrary to European laws and reinforce pre-existing tensions between Brussels and the ruling Polish Party Law and Justice (PiS).

The so-called Rywin affair — named after top film producer Lew Rywin, who was accused of arranging a $17.5 million bribe to influence a new media law, allegedly on behalf of the then prime minister's closest circle — ultimately toppled the government and sent Rywin to prison.

Speaker's corner

The opposition held its breath until the last minute on Tuesday evening to see whether its candidate, Tomasz Grodzki, would get the speaker seat in the Senate.