For the last four years, Poland has been subjected to an interesting political experiment. The political forces which were defeated in the elections of 2015, armed with the liberal-left public opinion, present the state of political life in Poland as a direct threat to and retraction of democracy. In response, the policy of the ruling party, which introduces changes resulting from its political agenda, is implemented with a great deal of skill and intuition. The Law and Justice party (PiS) is attempting to prevent an increase in mass social protests. Let us analyse this bizarre rivalry. On the one hand, the Law and Justice party is walking a tightrope, and on the other, the Civic Platform (PO) is striving to convince Poles and European politicians in Brussels that democracy is currently being annihilated in Poland.
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This phenomenon can be explained as controlling by fear. The aim is to create such an intense feeling of anxiety for the state of democracy that the “populist” government is left with a limited scope for action in the country and has to face constant accusations of posing a threat to democracy, which are expressed in the international arena. In any case, the left is finding these circumstances advantageous. The left-wing political spectrum is creating such a nervous atmosphere that the right-wing sector with an insignificant majority may easily fall through. In the case of governments with a solid majority, the constant tirades about the end of democracy also make sense. That government must put so much effort into dealing with street demonstrations and criticism expressed abroad that it finds itself forced to significantly limit the number of changes waiting to be introduced, because any of these changes may cause a mini-crisis.
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While most Poles have not become persuaded to believe in some new anti-democratic period in the history of Poland, the opposition camp has been very successful in promoting its story on the international forum. During this “campaign”, it was possible to discover things that previously had not been as visible. Among them, an absolute unification in the coverage of events in Poland in the most important Western media. It is difficult to count how many doubtful or biased opinions were presented as established facts. This, in turn, generated feedback (of sorts). Western politicians or EU commissioners expressing their views on the threat to democracy in Poland quoted the media when asked on what basis they formulated their opinions. And the media were biased in a great number of cases.
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To date, “Gazeta Wyborcza” has published so many exaggerated pseudo-dramatic stories that today its headlines do not impress anyone anymore. The tactics of fear control have encouraged the Law and Justice party to respond in kind. The opposition’s threat has also been demonised on numerous occasions. An example of a situation when the adoption of adversarial methods by PiS was harmful to the party was an overdramatic clip about the threat posed by refugees, which was broadcast in the last week of the election campaign in October 2018. The video was so sensational that it mobilised the PO’s electorate in large cities. Another example of habitual and exaggerated scaremongering about the negative aspects of the Civic Platform is TVP evening news programme “Wiadomości”.
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It is much more effective to control collective consciousness. In the old tale, the boy who cried wolf was devoured when the wolves finally made an appearance, as he had a tendency to overuse human credulity. However, nowadays we are faced with those who can successfully persuade us that wolves are a continued threat, and this allows them to wield control over society. In this respect, the liberal left is still incomparably more skilful and effective than the conservatives.
Piotr Semka
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