Poland slips towards populism. Democrats should be aware of our mistakes elsewhere | Karolina Wigura and JarosławKuisz

On the fall of 2023, the day after the country’s sensational parliamentary elections, we traveled through Poland by train. When the news of the result came, the passengers in our carriage fell into each other’s arms, ecstatic, as if they were lifting a large weight from their shoulders. Believe it in eight years, national populists in the Law and Judicial Party have always been hard to believe Deportation from power A record 75% voter turnout. We feel democracy has the potential to change things to make things better.

Less than two years have passed, but this enthusiasm has disappeared without tracking. Law and judge-backed candidate Karol Nawrocki wins Escape from the presidential election In June, there were 50.89% of the votes, ensuring Donald Trump’s admiration In the process. Nawrocki swears a few days before Wednesday [6 August] A new poll shows that almost Half of the voters Want Prime Minister Donald Tusk out. The Ruling Alliance is swinging. Tusk’s liberal democratic government may be nothing more than a swap, a pause between right-wing populist governments.

After more than a decade of life, in a global sense, with the new wave of populism, we can see that Poland missed opportunities is just one example. In the ruling country New populistsvoters often feel disappointed and angry. In recent years, liberal candidates brought by the opposition wave have ousted populists: Before Tusk was in charge in Poland, there was Joe Biden in the United States Louis ináciolula da silva In Brazil and Zuzanačaputová in Slovakia. The victory of these politicians seems briefly like refrigerator hope for liberal democratic consensus.

But reconstruction after populists evacuate their offices may be similar to the daily struggle in the political dirt. A victorious election campaign is different from a determined victory. Anti-populist wars are permanent wars and a global war, amplified by digital media.

Ruling after population is more difficult because populist governments leave legitimate minefields. exist Polandcountless legal decisions and actions aim to undermine liberal democratic institutions. It takes time and effort to demolish them constitutionally and restore the rule of law. This also requires Looking back on the past, not on the future, as the new administration resolved the mistakes of its predecessors. In Poland and Brazil, this kills any ambition to provide an exciting roadmap for years to come. Inevitably, any initial delight will soon be subject to public frustration, and the rise of another challenge from right-wing populists.

Since the anti-communist Unity Movement In the 1980s, Poland has been an important laboratory for the war of democracy. After returning to power in 2023, Tusk faces a dilemma: Should he be completely distant from his ex’s agenda or flirting with their legacy? Tusk selected the second option. He provides populist direct financial support programs for families with children. He went on to build a giant transport center, a flagship project he used to be the former government Being attacked is a waste. He failed to liberalize, which is especially surprising Abortion law in Polandtightened by populists. Response to nationalist comments about immigration and defense borders, leading Poland to reimpose checks Border with EU neighbors Germany and Lithuaniaalthough all three countries are in the Schengen region.

Letting national populists set the political tone for him is driving the failure of Ivory. His presidential candidate Rafał Trzaskowski failed and was later supported in a poll. The lack of inspiring vision, and even the consciousness represented by ivory, is a testimony of pain.

If parliamentary elections were held today, right-wing populists in Poland would be reintroduced, possibly through a more radical nationalist program. Abroad, Tusk may be admired as a staunch defender of democracy. At home, he has become one of the least popular politicians in the country.

Call it Gorbachev syndrome: internationally loved, but condemned at home. Tusk’s sluggish ratings can be blamed on a whole set of unfulfilled commitments, poor messaging and a bad presidential campaign. He was also influenced by global trends that refused to build politicians. For many Polish voters, especially young voters, who have been active in Polish politics for over 25 years and served as prime minister from 2007 to 2014, it seems like part of a weary old elite whose time has been abandoned.

To date, maintaining democracy requires something that liberal Democrats lack: an imaginative concept of the future. Here, Tusk and Lula are disappointing, just as čaputová and Biden did in front of them. Information is lacking, but the medium is also challenging. Right-wing populists have won the battleground so far New and social media.

This is not the only example, but the Polish case clearly shows the stupidity of fighting elections purely on defense. It’s too little and too narrow. Liberal ambitions must be further away than preventing populists from taking power or removing them from them.

Elections must be understood as an opportunity to rebuild democracy and align with the new media environment. Without a forward-looking approach, the liberal Intermezzo would still exist: a brief interval between behaviors in a longer populist drama. Democrats must learn this lesson – competing with populism not only means facing the past, but also providing a compelling vision for the future.