the new government carries out a drastic purge to restore the independence of public media

A page has turned in Poland, after eight years in power of the populist national party PiS. The electoral victory of the progressive camp on Tuesday, December 12, brought Donald Tusk to the post of Prime Minister. The new strong man has just taken over the national media, in the name of a democratic restoration.

All it took was a resolution passed by the National Assembly on Tuesday, December 19, for, in a few hours, all the senior executives of television, radio and the national press agency to be dismissed. Police forces were even deployed in front of the buildings to prevent them from accessing their offices and allow the new teams to settle in.

On air, the presenters barely have time to announce the news: “This is a historic moment in the history of television”, said this TVP journalist. And then the programs are interrupted. The focus is imposed on the screen. On the continuing news channel, no more stage, no more guests but an old soap opera.

Restoring the rule of law

All this looks more like putschist methods than those of a pro-European government. This is the challenge facing the new coalition led by Donald Tusk, who took office only 10 days ago. How can we restore the rule of law in a country that had slowly drifted towards authoritarian rule? How can we dismantle the propaganda apparatus that had corrupted the media?

In Poland, the public service had become a simple transmission belt for nationalist leaders, a outlet for biased information and virulent attacks against the opposition. When it came to power in 2015, the Law and Justice party, PiS, carried out an even more severe purge, disembarking dozens of journalists and changing the law.

Restoring the impartiality of public media

The current Prime Minister uses the method but above all promises new legislative texts to restore the impartiality of the public media and protect their independence. Obviously, the former team in power is crying foul. One in three Poles only has the public network to get their information. We understand that the PiS populists have no desire to lose the link with their voters.

So they hang on. Some deputies even forced the doors of the television to occupy the premises. They are trying to mobilize public opinion and a few demonstrations have taken place here and there. But hearing them denounce the control over the media is a “grotesque prank”says the daily Rzeczpospolita. In this vast political comedy, the PiS actors should above all learn to leave the stage.