As someone who has spent more than 50 years of his life campaigning for a free democratic Poland in a free democratic Europe, I am especially saddened by the current attempts of the Polish government to take advantage of coronavirus restrictions to ram through parliament a total ban on abortion, the banning of sex education in schools, reintroducing children into blood sports and conducting presidential elections on May 10th by an improvised untested method of universal postal voting. This dramatic change in the voting system was introduced with barely a month's notice, contrary to the constitutional requirements that any changes to electoral law should be made at least 6 months before the next election. Also this election disenfranchises all Polish citizens living abroad in countries where there is also a lockdown and social distancing measures.
These proposals are very controversial while the obsessive obstinacy in holding the election in the middle of a universal lockdown is justified solely by a need to retain power and reimpose by the back door "traditonal Polish values" on society. It forms part of the government's unilateral attempt to self-exile Poland from all aspects of EU traditions and values while still retining its access to generous EU regional and agricultural subsidies.
The sad thing is that I recognize these so-called "Polish values" as being outdated values common in the UK and other Western countries only 30 years ago, but long since abandoned as outdated.. There is nothing innately "Polish" about them. They are in contradiction to Poland's traditional call for "Your Freedoma and Ours" and are not shared by a large section of modern Polish society. They signify not the indigenisation of political culture in Poland but its anachronism.
Unfortunately pursuing this election and this controversial legislation while the Sejm is not fully functioning could also undermine public confidence in those vital measures rightly taken by the same government to combat Covid-19.
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