Long read, but a good backgrounder on what’s going on in Poland:
Having seized formal political power with both hands, Kaczynski took the Party’s unprecedented electoral success as unquestionable justification to vehemently oppose any challenge to its authority. It moved swiftly to acquire as much control as possible by capturing, dismantling, or neutering institutions that have in the past acted as checks and balances on parliamentary power. The key, and the first target of his effort, was to shackle Poland’s capacity for judicial oversight.
Europe’s illiberal democracies have gained a new member, and the world has taken notice.
Source: Poland’s New Majoritarians