In Warsaw, 500,000 Poles took to the streets on Sunday to protest against the authoritarian drift of the government. The largest political gathering since the country’s independence.
It was a real sunny tidal wave of Polish and European flags, demonstrators of all generations from all over the country. With, at the head of the procession, behind a huge red and white banner, the Europhile and liberal Donald Tusk, boss of the main opposition party, Civic Platform, who would see himself as Prime Minister after the legislative elections scheduled for this fall.
Donald Tusk already led the government from 2007 to 2014 (two terms) before taking over as head of the European Council. At his side, a legend of Polish history: Lech Walesa, 80 years old this year, Nobel Peace Prize, leader of Solidarność who had left the political scene and who is returning to the arena. I waited “patiently” he said, the day when the nationalist party and its leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski will have to leave: “On came to pick you up. This day has arrived.
A good campaign launch
The opposition – which does not skimp on symbols – also compares the stakes of its current fight to that of the 1980s against communism. Even the date of the demonstration is a historical reminder: on Sunday June 4, Poland celebrated the anniversary of its first partially free elections, on June 4, 1989, when Solidarność – to everyone’s surprise – brought down the Communist Party and precipitated the fall of Communism throughout Europe.
Donald Tusk could not have dreamed of a better campaign launch with the rallying of parties which have put aside their differences and a strongly mobilized Poland which has not demonstrated at all for thirty years.
The rallying cry? To protest against “the expensive life, the scam and the lie“and come out in favor of”democracy, free elections and the European Union “.
Basically, for a whole section of society, to say the fed up of the ultra-conservatives of the Law and Justice party, the PiS, its leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his allies, in power for eight years, who are methodically undermining the achievements of the democracy. Their repeated attacks on the rule of law have earned them tumultuous relations with Brussels. Attacks on the justice system, the LGBT community, women’s rights. An example: in March, an activist who provided an abortion pill to a pregnant woman was sentenced to eight months of community service.
The commission of inquiry at the heart of anger
But what has especially galvanized the opposition is the entry into force last week of a commission of inquiry aimed at shedding light on “Russian influence” in national politics. A crude maneuver intended in reality to dismiss opponents, in the forefront of which Donald Tusk, who has become the pet peeve of power – on the grounds that his government has signed gas contracts with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Washington and Brussels have expressed their deep concern over a visibly unconstitutional measure. A few days later, after validating the text, President Andrzej Duda proposed amendments to calm things down. Without success.
A head-to-head race
Despite this demonstration by the opposition yesterday, the “Law and Justice” party remains in the lead in the polls. Its popularity is due in particular to the fact that it has increased without counting social expenditure, family allowances, thirteenth, and even fourteenth month pensioners. And then the government positioned itself very early on in favor of Ukraine against Moscow. Poland even became a pillar of the Western alliance, that gave it credit.
However, according to the polls, neither the PiS nor the Civic Platform are able to obtain enough votes on their own to form a government. There are four months left in the campaign. Everything will depend on the campaign of the PiS, which has almost unlimited public funding and has transformed the public media into propaganda organs.