Kaczyński returns to the Polish government
The Polish government is being restructured and reduced in size. There will now be 14 instead of 20 ministries. Jarosław Kaczyński, head of the national-conservative governing party PiS, will become deputy prime minister. The new minister of science and education will be Przemysław Czarnek, who is being criticised for his anti-LGBT statements. What impacts will the restructuring of the cabinet have on relations with the EU?
A nationalist turn
Gazeta Wyborcza fears the government will shift even further to the right:
“If the changes that have been announced come about, then the PiS and Prime Minister Morawiecki will perform an even deeper nationalist turn in their second term. The socially oriented course will be cut back due to the pressure of the crisis because there is no money. ... That is why nationalism, which is supported by governing with an iron fist, tops the PiS's agenda. ... The prattle in the government camp about social justice, the hardships suffered by renters, equal opportunity in court etc. is a thing of the past. The question of control over the courts and the citizens' mindset has gathered momentum.”
On a collision course with the EU
The Polish government's actions will now be driven by ideology even more than before, the Handelsblatt also fears:
“Especially the harassment of judges and independent media will be exacerbated. The attempt to exempt the government's disastrous bad decisions in the coronavirus crisis, thereby simply rubber-stamping criminal activities, will now be put back on the agenda as well. Hardliner Kaczynski is thereby increasingly alienating Poland from the EU. Poland, the biggest beneficiary of EU funding, will intensify its collision course.”
Disgusting stigmatisation
In the eyes of the opposition and media that are critical of the government, PiS officials can't do anything right, rails wPolityce.pl: Gazeta Wyborcza
“ used its keyed-up editorial computers not only to agitate against the new science and education minister, but also added a small collection of quotes to prove his crimes. ... Regardless of what anyone does or will do in this government, what matters is that they shut up, and if they don't, they get a punch in the face. ... How often, please, can one state that PiS officials have no say, only to take up their words when they can be used against them. Of course that's so disgusting that the microphones and newspapers blush with shame.”