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| Scrutiny concerns as Poland's new government legislates round the clock | Scrutiny concerns as Poland's new government legislates round the clock |
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| In another country – or in a different Poland – the smartphone video of Krzysztof Jurgiel sleeping in an armchair in parliament might cost the agriculture minister his job. The budget vote in the chamber had to be delayed while fellow MPs went looking for him at 2am last Saturday. | In another country – or in a different Poland – the smartphone video of Krzysztof Jurgiel sleeping in an armchair in parliament might cost the agriculture minister his job. The budget vote in the chamber had to be delayed while fellow MPs went looking for him at 2am last Saturday. |
| But Jurgiel’s nap has met with sympathy both inside and outside the Sejm, Poland’s parliament. In barely three months since the Law and Justice party came to power, Polish governance has moved out of hours, into late nights, weekends and holidays. Critics say the frantic new pace, which sees laws go from committee stage to enactment in record time, is being set by party founder and leader Jarosław Kaczyński. | But Jurgiel’s nap has met with sympathy both inside and outside the Sejm, Poland’s parliament. In barely three months since the Law and Justice party came to power, Polish governance has moved out of hours, into late nights, weekends and holidays. Critics say the frantic new pace, which sees laws go from committee stage to enactment in record time, is being set by party founder and leader Jarosław Kaczyński. |
| “He is Poland’s most well-known late riser. He works at night,” said Jacek Kucharczyk, president of the Institute of Public Affairs. “Kaczyński famously avoided arrest during the overnight martial law round-up in 1981 because he slept through it. Now it seems the whole of parliament is expected to follow his clock.” | “He is Poland’s most well-known late riser. He works at night,” said Jacek Kucharczyk, president of the Institute of Public Affairs. “Kaczyński famously avoided arrest during the overnight martial law round-up in 1981 because he slept through it. Now it seems the whole of parliament is expected to follow his clock.” |
| The nationalist Law and Justice government – sceptical of Brussels and Russia in equal measure, and close to the conservative wing of the Roman Catholic church – was sworn in in mid-November with Beata Szydło as prime minister. Its populist agenda so convinced voters that after the 25 October elections, it became the first party to able to govern alone in Poland since the end of communism in 1989. | The nationalist Law and Justice government – sceptical of Brussels and Russia in equal measure, and close to the conservative wing of the Roman Catholic church – was sworn in in mid-November with Beata Szydło as prime minister. Its populist agenda so convinced voters that after the 25 October elections, it became the first party to able to govern alone in Poland since the end of communism in 1989. |
| But it also seems to be bringing back single-party memories, such as a “Bolshevik-style treatment of the people,” said Paweł Kukiz, a populist MP. The former rock star, who heads the third largest grouping in parliament, claimed the late-night sittings are a sign of government disdain for the political process. | But it also seems to be bringing back single-party memories, such as a “Bolshevik-style treatment of the people,” said Paweł Kukiz, a populist MP. The former rock star, who heads the third largest grouping in parliament, claimed the late-night sittings are a sign of government disdain for the political process. |
| Ciężka praca PiS podczas uchwalania budżetu. Minister Jurgiel mocno śpi. pic.twitter.com/uYl4oKgK8T | Ciężka praca PiS podczas uchwalania budżetu. Minister Jurgiel mocno śpi. pic.twitter.com/uYl4oKgK8T |
| Kukiz said that before Jurgiel fell asleep last Friday evening, the budget debate had been delayed for several hours so that Kaczyński, who is not a minister, could attend a man of the year ceremony hosted by a newspaper. “I can work from dawn to dawn, if there are good reasons, but not for the presentation of an award,” Kukiz told a radio station. | |
| Another MP, Krzysztof Brejza, wrote to the speaker, Marek Kuchciński, asking where the money will be found for parliamentary staff who are currently owed 76,000zł (£13,200) in overtime payments as a result of recent late sessions. | Another MP, Krzysztof Brejza, wrote to the speaker, Marek Kuchciński, asking where the money will be found for parliamentary staff who are currently owed 76,000zł (£13,200) in overtime payments as a result of recent late sessions. |
| Related: Poland lurches to right with election of Law and Justice party | Related: Poland lurches to right with election of Law and Justice party |
| Kaczyński’s agenda is to lift Poland from “the ruins” he claims the country was left in by eight years of the liberal Civic Platform government. | Kaczyński’s agenda is to lift Poland from “the ruins” he claims the country was left in by eight years of the liberal Civic Platform government. |
| First up: reform of the constitutional tribunal – the highest court in the land, which blocked many initiatives when Law and Justice was last in power between 2005 and 2007. Four out of five new judges chosen by the party – Henryk Cioch, Lech Morawski, Mariusz Muszyński and Piotr Pszczółkowski – were summoned to take their oaths before President Andrzej Duda at a pre-breakfast ceremony on 3 December at 7am. | First up: reform of the constitutional tribunal – the highest court in the land, which blocked many initiatives when Law and Justice was last in power between 2005 and 2007. Four out of five new judges chosen by the party – Henryk Cioch, Lech Morawski, Mariusz Muszyński and Piotr Pszczółkowski – were summoned to take their oaths before President Andrzej Duda at a pre-breakfast ceremony on 3 December at 7am. |
| Then came Christmas. But Kaczyński’s acolytes didn’t stop for long. In the early hours of 28 December, new rules for the constitutional tribunal were adopted. Late on 30 December parliament passed a media law, terminating the contracts of public service broadcasting chiefs and charging the Treasury with appointing new ones. By 7 January the media law had passed through the Senate and was signed by Duda. The legality of both laws is under review by the European commission. | Then came Christmas. But Kaczyński’s acolytes didn’t stop for long. In the early hours of 28 December, new rules for the constitutional tribunal were adopted. Late on 30 December parliament passed a media law, terminating the contracts of public service broadcasting chiefs and charging the Treasury with appointing new ones. By 7 January the media law had passed through the Senate and was signed by Duda. The legality of both laws is under review by the European commission. |
| More changes are afoot. A law enhancing the police’s surveillance powers passed though parliament on 15 January and is due to take effect on 7 February. On 28 January, parliament moved the attorney general’s office into the justice ministry, a move which some fear will see the government interfering in prosecutions. | More changes are afoot. A law enhancing the police’s surveillance powers passed though parliament on 15 January and is due to take effect on 7 February. On 28 January, parliament moved the attorney general’s office into the justice ministry, a move which some fear will see the government interfering in prosecutions. |
| Kucharczyk believes the government’s punishing pace of law-making is deliberately intended to limit debate. “Human rights groups try to monitor the parliamentary committees but they cannot keep up. The strategy is to keep parliamentary debates off prime-time television and reduce public awareness and exposure to the opposition’s input.” | Kucharczyk believes the government’s punishing pace of law-making is deliberately intended to limit debate. “Human rights groups try to monitor the parliamentary committees but they cannot keep up. The strategy is to keep parliamentary debates off prime-time television and reduce public awareness and exposure to the opposition’s input.” |
| An even more worrying signal, he said, was a dawn raid on Friday 18 December on a Nato-affiliated counterintelligence centre in Warsaw. “The last time Law & Justice were in power, they staged raids as part of an anti-corruption drive. The most notorious of these ended with the suicide of [veteran politician] Barbara Blida,” he said. “In Poland, it just takes just one raid, like the on the Nato office, to trigger frightening memories of 2007, and even recollections of the Stalinist period.” | An even more worrying signal, he said, was a dawn raid on Friday 18 December on a Nato-affiliated counterintelligence centre in Warsaw. “The last time Law & Justice were in power, they staged raids as part of an anti-corruption drive. The most notorious of these ended with the suicide of [veteran politician] Barbara Blida,” he said. “In Poland, it just takes just one raid, like the on the Nato office, to trigger frightening memories of 2007, and even recollections of the Stalinist period.” |
| • This article was amended on 9 February 2016. An earlier version said that Jarosław Kaczyński was not an MP. That has been corrected. |