Photo Gallery A Budding Autocracy?
With the Jaroslaw Kaczynski-led Law and Justice party (PiS) seeking to consolidate its grip on the state, opposition activists have been taking to the street on a regular basis. Here, a woman holding a Polish national flag marches in a demonstration demanding that the government respect the country's constitution.
The national-conservative government currently in power has side-lined the country's top court, essentially ignoring all of its rulings and not allowing them to be officially published. Constitutional Tribunal Chairman Andrzej Rzeplinski's term expires in December, at which time Kaczynski will likely seek to replace him with a party ally.
Kaczynski does not hold a position in the new PiS government in Warsaw. But he is firmly in control of the Law and Justice party and calls the shots as PiS consolidates power.
Brussels is concerned about the rule of law in Poland and many domestic observers are as well. He wants to monopolize power with no limitations. The approach is informed by a Bolshevik understanding of politics," says sociology professor Jadwiga Staniszkis, who has known Kaczynski for decades.
