Overturning the life-sentence verdict for the murderer of a woman and two small children — and the way this event is being “sold” to the public by Civic Coalition (KO) politicians — shows what the current government really is. We see its aggression, the astonishing stupidity of the populism it uses to try to legitimize its pathologies, and, finally, ordinary human meanness and heartlessness. And, perhaps most importantly, we see that KO’s actions have nothing to do with “restoring the rule of law”; they are about deepening chaos, social polarization and the destruction of the state. In that respect they almost appear to be carrying out an order straight from the Kremlin.
Once again KO has shown how little regard it has for the intellect of its electorate. Despite the “small” fact that Tusk has been in power for two years, it turns out that the reason Żurek’s judicial lackey overturned the infanticide sentence is… Zbigniew Ziobro. Interestingly, in the online statement in which the ruling party announced this scoop, they didn’t even bother to explain why. It’s simply a pointing of the evil witch who is allegedly responsible for all the ills of today’s Poland. This fits perfectly with the authorities’ actions aimed at securing Ziobro’s arrest and the witch-hunt carried out by the government’s media operatives — a kind of modern-day burning at the stake.
Like Jews in antisemitic propaganda
This kind of messaging was also necessary from Donald Tusk’s side for the media space. The case had become, colloquially speaking, so “thick” that even pro-government media didn’t know how to present it to the public. Naming a scapegoat, even without any argumentation, solved the problem. Now various portals and newspapers shout headlines or leads that read “it’s Ziobro’s fault.” Note that the aim isn’t even to convince the recipient (such a message will mainly reach the hardened base); the goal is to create the impression that the affair simply stinks and everyone is implicated. At the same time, notice how plainly stupid the populism is that the authorities use to achieve this propaganda goal, how it preys on the most primitive emotions.
Although KO has been in power for quite some time and has access to virtually all instruments of state coercion, it suddenly turns out that Poland is still ruled by opposition politicians like Ziobro or Kaczyński. Moreover, this narrative — that PiS still controls Poland — contradicts another narrative the government promotes: that it is strong, effective, a kind of unyielding political sheriff. Those two narratives can only be linked by extremely conspiratorial propaganda. On the one hand, under the “smiling” government, Poland is a land flowing with milk and honey; on the other hand, in certain areas there still exists a state within a state controlled by forces of evil. The stupidity and primitiveness of this propaganda, and the emotions it appeals to — fear, suspicion, paranoia — make the main opposition party in Tusk’s and Żurek’s messaging really resemble the Jews depicted in antisemitic pamphlets from the early 20th century.
Kaczyński and Ziobro, like the Elders of Zion, sit in dungeons, in semi-darkness, crafting conspiracies intended to weaken the state. This is the level to which KO has stooped — the party that campaigned as a progressive, European formation and which its media henchmen presented as the only salvation from “populism.”
Another coup?
The decision to overturn the verdict, and the accompanying narrative blaming “PiS,” indicate that this government is not interested in any real restoration of the judiciary. That is obvious to most readers, yet the example described here is particularly striking. It is also an extremely risky move. First, apart from pathology among the in-crowd, it is hard to believe such legal scandals will win widespread public approval. Second, it sets a dangerously precedential example: no doubt lawyers for various criminals are already looking for more “neo-judges” on panels so they can overturn sentences for their clients. The government’s decisions practically encourage them to take such actions — it is hard to believe that the political decision-makers, led by Tusk and Żurek, are unaware of this.
So why did they decide to take this step? It is further proof that the “smiling” ones do not want any real reform of the justice system, not even one that would give them full control over it. Instead they opt for legal chaos and endless brawling. First, this may deepen an already extreme social polarization. Among a divided, hate-filled society it is easier to hide the real state of the country by organizing public debate around successive political or ideological spectacles. Second — and even more importantly — in a world of chaos, absence of law and rules, and total arbitrariness — which is what Tusk’s Poland becomes, especially regarding the courts — only brutal force counts. Force becomes the sole determinant of who is right and the legitimization of power. What’s worse, given the judiciary’s importance to the political system, this chaos and discretionary rule will infect other areas of state activity. In this way the smiling party, at the cost of the full anarchization of the state, can effectively do anything. The question is: what should we be preparing for? Is it “only” about quickly ratifying Mercosur, the migration pact and staging a show around Ziobro, or are Tusk and Żurek thinking of something more serious? Maybe they want to try again to carry out a coup that failed earlier this June?
Populism is water in the mill for the Russians
All the above actions do not happen in a vacuum. Poland is not a monad but a state in a very specific geopolitical situation. Here we reach KO’s greatest sin. Destabilizing the country at a time of such a geopolitical crisis and Russian threat is simply work done in the Kremlin’s interest. A state in full chaos, with legal ambiguity, a country in which — of course in the name of “restoring order” — all systemic safeguards have been destroyed, where, quoting the prime minister, it is not the time to concern oneself with the letter of the law or to adhere to “civilized methods,” practically invites Russia to undertake intelligence or destabilizing activities.
Today Poland is a place where the main goal of the government and the services is not protecting citizens but persecuting the opposition; that is where most of their resources are spent. Furthermore, as the case of attacks on the president and his environment and institutions shows — our state is ready to weaken, even destroy, itself in the name of the partisan interests of Tusk’s formation. What’s worse, our society is more conflicted than ever, and Tusk and his media yappers, by organizing daily witch-hunts, only deepen polarization. A nation in such hysteria, where public debate is so tainted by populism and the sharpest, mutually antagonistic emotions, becomes an ideal target for Russian services and propaganda. This looks like a script written in the Kremlin.