Hungarian Conservative

‘The unfreezing of funds is a turning point in the EU⁠–⁠Poland relationship—one that had become very strained in recent years—and of course a major political success for the new cabinet. But that is not the only reason why the Commission decision is so instructive: the damage to the rule of law in Poland, which was so widely reported on in the European press in recent years, appears to have been reversed in less than two months, to the extent that the European Commission was willing to waive the withholding of EU funds, which is undoubtedly a very effective tool for blackmailing reluctant member states.’

Tamás Sulyok visited Poland on the Day of Polish⁠–⁠Hungarian Friendship, marking the extraordinary and long-standing relationship between the two Central European nations.

For Hungary, this is an unmitigated disaster. While Robert Fico’s return to power in Slovakia offers some reason for optimism, Hungary’s northern neighbours certainly will not replace the Poles as steadfast, influential allies in Europe.

‘Once the power transition issue subsides, revenge is likely to become a central issue in Polish politics. Among the presumed incoming government’s proposals are journalistic purges and political show-trials, precisely the sort of banana-republic behavior anti-PiS voices have long alleged on the part of the outgoing government.’

The new Polish government is quite likely to not be able to deliver on many of its crucial election promises, which may create legitimacy problems. And this is far from being the only difficulty: if the new government is unable to change the laws that led the EU to launch the Article 7 and the so-called rule of law proceedings against Poland, there may be serious economic consequences for the country.

Jarosław Kaczyński, the PiS leader, described the results as a great success, emphasizing that his party has now won parliamentary elections for the fourth time in its history and the third consecutive time. He added, however, that whether PiS will be able to form a government remains a question.

‘We did not set the speech up some kind of head-to-head. This is not a rhetorical contest with anyone else,’ underlined US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, stating that Biden’s speech was not planned as a direct rebuttal to Putin.