Polish laws on abortion are the strictest in Europe. The government refuses the right to safe abortion to people with wombs, allowing for abortion tourism and self-induced miscarriage. This wasn’t enough for religious fundamentalists in the Polish parliament.
The Polish government’s war with both Brussels and a significant part of the Polish population over the rule of law is against Poland’s national interests. On October 26, the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s decision to ban over 95% of legal abortions in Poland.
In democratic societies, elections are determined by the vote of the people. The democratic process in the United States elected President Trump in 2016. Four years later, after all legal votes are counted and verified, the same process may require that he peacefully transfer that power to someone else.
Coalition negotiations started just one day after the election. It is already becoming apparent that a liberal influence will become visible. The clearly pro-Western and pro-European coalition will continue and even strengthen the previous course of support for the opposition in Belarus.
The current governing Farmers and Greens Union immediately pointed out that in the second round, which will take place on October 25, the voters could still turn the result in their favor.
Viktor Orbán’s national conservative Fidesz party is famous for its method of relentlessly searching the ideal topic for their next populist campaign. They need topics that allow them to dominate public life in the long term, and can be used to generate intense anger.
Lithuania voted in the general national election on October 11. Thepposition conservative party Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats secured victory in the first round of the general vote, claiming 25% of the votes and 23 seats in the country’s 141-seat parliament.
In the midst of a pandemic, an unstable situation beyond our eastern border, disastrous relations with the EU countries, and uncertainty about the future of Poland’s key military ally, i.e. the United States, power focused on factional wars is a scenario that Poland simply cannot afford.
On October 11, Lithuania will hold parliamentary elections. A total of 141 representatives of the nation will be elected, of which 71 in single-mandate constituencies and 70 from party lists.
It is not very often that the Liberální Institut can praise a politician for something. The happier I am that I can do so today, because an entourage of Czech senators – headed by the President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrči, – went in their official capacity to the Republic of China – the country generally known as Taiwan.
