Poland, which was the pioneer in eroding the Soviet empire during the 1980s, was rewarded last week for being a pioneer in rolling back an authoritarian trend within Europe. The executive branch of the European Union announced that Poland would start receiving $148.5 billion in frozen EU funds after the country – led by young voters – took the first steps in restoring a core principle of democratic governance: equality in rule of law before impartial judges.
“Poland is moving from being a rule of law problem child to becoming a champion of democracy,” said German Minister of State for Europe Anna Lührmann.
The money due Poland had been withheld by the EU because the previous government, under the Law and Justice party (known by its Polish acronym PiS), had violated the separation of powers in eroding the independence of the judiciary. Since 2015, when the party won an election, it had altered the selection process for judges in order to place thousands of party loyalists on the bench.
The PiS lost power after an election last October that saw the highest voter turnout – 74% – in over a century. “Polish citizens chose democracy and the rule of law on the 15th of October,” Donald Tusk, the new prime minister, told reporters. “They are the real heroes of Polish history.”
In particular, voters under age 29 showed up. Their turnout was nearly 69%, compared with 46% in 2019. Under the previous government, they had experienced an erosion of civic liberties marked by greater inequality from court decisions.
“The outcome of the October election should serve as a reminder that democracy’s decline is not inevitable and can be halted,” wrote Patrice McMahon, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in The Conversation.
The new ruling coalition under Mr. Tusk faces an uphill struggle to clean up Poland’s judiciary. The current president, a PiS loyalist whose term ends next year, can veto measures passed by the parliament. Yet the EU has enough faith in the new government’s initial reforms to start releasing the bloc’s funds promised to Poland.
“We are impressed by [the efforts] of the Polish people to restore the rule of law as the backbone of your society,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “A society where everyone plays by the rules. A society where people and businesses can trust the institutions and can hold authorities to account. Together we will protect the rule of law all over Europe.”