Why Isn’t Poland Smiling? Just Ask the Protesting Farmers Attacked by Police Last Week.

When Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition conducted its election campaign last year, it promoted the slogan of “Smiling Poland,” with corresponding brand accents of smiles and hearts. It implied that Poland had receded into darkness under the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which governed the country from 2015 to 2023. Tusk and his coalition partners promised progress and a healthy dose of “rule of law.” Instead, they have returned the country to an earlier era, as seemingly not a week passes without a thuggish confrontation.