By Michael Birnbaum
Brussels — A prominent Polish opposition leader, (click here) Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz, died Monday after being stabbed in the chest a day earlier at a charity concert, unsettling Polish politics at a tense and polarized moment in the nation’s history.
The attack, which was broadly condemned across the political spectrum, stunned a country that has become deeply divided over attempts by the ruling Law and Justice party to increase its control over courts, media and other aspects of public life.
Polish authorities allege that the assailant was a 27-year-old man with a history of crime and mental illness. After he stabbed Adamowicz repeatedly on a stage in front of a crowd of thousands, he declared himself to have been wrongfully imprisoned by Poland’s previous ruling party, which had supported Adamowicz....
Following the funeral (click here) Minister Krzysztof Szczerski read a letter from the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda.The Letter (click here)
Poland has, (click here) for the last three years, been the subject of strong criticism from EU leaders. The main bone of contention has the been the Polish government’s repeated attempts to make sweeping changes to the independent judiciary, widely seen as a slide towards authoritarianism in the former communist country. Such moves have prompted punitive actions by the EU, including the launch of Article 7 proceedings against the Polish government in December last year. The latest installment in the saga has been an attempt to force Supreme Court justices to retire earlier at 65 as opposed to the current limit of 70. But after an intervention by the European Court of Justice, politicians have this week voted to reverse this decision. Euronews spoke to Wojciech Sadurski, a law professor and Polish legal expert, about the situation in Poland....
President Duda has entered into an agreement with a wall of countries in Central Europe. It is an economic wall as well as a strategic wall.
The Three Seas Initiative a a brave new way of insuring these 12 countries are always economically strong and strategically prepared for nonsense from Russia. they are all members of NATO and span three sees, the Black Sea, the Adriatic and the Baltic. That is an amazing alliance within NATO.
The Presidents have a flexible platform because it allows for cultural initiative and cross border economic strategies. There may be turbulence in Poland because of mischief by Putin, but, to believe there is ever going to be any relinquishment of democracy is pure speculation.
The Polish people embrace their freedom. They sometimes are lead to an undemocratic approach because they trust a little too much, but, President Duda is an incredible president with a very long history of dedication to the people of Poland and the freedom they love. There is too much about Duda, Poland and the Three Sea Imitative that stands for freedom and strength. Perhaps Poland and it's alliance would like to have a climate efficient aluminum smelter within their borders.
