The government does need the reminder though. Doing nothing and then banking on not being PiS is clearly not enough. The young voters especially felt betrayed and neglected.
Pro-Russia no, but very much right-wing.
Well, rather the PiS camp that is currently in opposition, but will hold the presidency and thus veto power and judiciary for another 5 years
Right, and keep the opinions (at least mostly) consistent so as to build long-term trust.
But how do we convince people to the left then?
They certainly did, although for once I doubt it was their meddling in particular that elected Nawrocki, as hard as it may be to believe that someone with so many anti-qualities could be elected president.
And you'd be right. In fact, that's what a lot of liberal/centrist candidates tend to do nowadays - pander to the far-right, only to give said far-right credibility to the voters whilst losing their own, alienating left-wing voters and not even really gaining the far-right's vote.
KO (more accurately PO, Tusk's long-time party that makes up 90% of KO) in particular never had that much credibility to begin with and with the current government, regardless if it's their fault or not, the government hadn't really done that many huge actions in the country. Sometimes it really is still PiS's and Duda's fault, but that imo is still no excuse to not at least try to push the legislative to show people who's in the wrong; other times it can be the coalition mates, making the government look even less effective.
That being said, Gen Z voting for the nationalist was no doubt due to Konf leader Mentzen and due to Kanał Zero. Both of which are very youth-oriented, the former being a far-right ultra-capitalist 1st round presidential candidate and the latter being a popular YouTube channel that for a year straight since its inception has shaped public opinion against the government and in favor of the right.
And with all that being said, I might want to consider moving. A PiS+Konf government will more than likely annihilate the already sparsely funded public institutions.
You have no idea. A PiS+Konf government (and that's what's likely coming, because president Nawrocki will likely block every single meaningful reform by our current government) would effectively mean GOP rule in Poland. That would be a nightmare scenario for any European state.
The chances are 50-50.
Speaking of - presidential elections on June 1st (also today if you're in the Americas)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has announced his support for conservative opposition Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki ahead of Sunday’s run-off election, in which Nawrocki is competing against government-aligned centrist Rafał Trzaskowski.
His endorsement comes two days after Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, also called on Poles to vote for Nawrocki and described Trzaskowski as “an absolute train wreck of a leader”.
Noem’s declaration of support came during CPAC Poland, the first time that the prominent US conservative conference has been held in the country. Orbán’s remarks came today at the Hungarian offshoot of CPAC.
“On Sunday, presidential elections will be held in Poland,” said Orbán, quoted by Polsat News. “Long live Nawrocki!”
The Hungarian leader then pointed to Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s former conservative prime minister, and said: “If you want to know what true liberal democracy looks like, ask him. Unheard-of things are happening in Poland. All European rules and principles are being trampled. And Brussels supports it.”
Morawiecki and his national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party have accused Poland’s current government, led by former European Council President Donald Tusk, of violating democracy and the rule of law.
Elsewhere in his speech, Orbán announced a “patriotic plan” to “transform” the European Union. “We want to take Europe back from migrants. We want a Christian culture, schools based on national principles,” he declared.
Orbán’s Fidesz party has long been closely aligned with PiS, which ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023 but is now in opposition. Though Nawrocki is technically an independent, PiS is supporting his presidential bid.
PiS’s relationship with Orbán has, however, faced some criticism in Poland, in particular due to the Hungarian leader’s close relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. That led relations between PiS and Fidesz to cool after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, though they have subsequently warmed again.
After Orbán’s endorsement of Nawrocki today, a number of figures from Poland’s ruling coalition, which contains pro-EU parties ranging from left to centre-right, posted pictures on social media of Orbán and Putin together.
“Congratulations on the support from Prime Minister Viktor Orban,” foreign minister Radosław Sikorski wrote to Nawrocki, before asking: “Will you pursue a similar policy towards Putin and the European Union?”
Last week, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland accused Nawrocki of “playing into Russia’s hands” by declaring his opposition to Ukrainian membership of NATO.
Nawrocki has also called for measures to ensure that Poles receive preferential access to public services ahead of immigrants, the majority of whom are Ukrainians.
Polls suggest that Sunday’s presidential election run-off will be an extremely tight race between Trzaskowski and Nawrocki. The winner will succeed current President Duda when his second and final five-year term in office ends in August.
Thing is the TK is not an institution supported by the current government. Its judges were illegally appointed by PiS (the previous government) and now only serve to politically posture.