Olivier Bault | Visegrád Post

Can the Polish presidential election take place on May 10?

Olivier Bault April 29, 2020

Poland - “If someone from the opposition was now leading in the opinion polls, what would happen if the executive power declared a state of emergency in order to postpone the election?”, Krzysztof Szczerski, head of the Chancellery of the President of…

Politics

Polish government seeks to limit economic damage from the pandemic

Olivier Bault April 20, 2020

Poland - The Polish government announced on Thursday evening a first series of measures designed to ease the lockdown and revive the economy, as this year seems set to bring the country’s first recession since 1992. The S&P rating agency expects a…

Politics

Parliamentary democracy vs judicial activism: not just a Polish or Hungarian issue!

Olivier Bault April 6, 2020

European Union - The issue of parliamentary democracy versus judicial activism is not just about Poland and Hungary, even though the focus of the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) seems to have been largely centred…

Society

COVID-19 epidemic spreading slower in the V4 than in Western Europe thanks to measures taken earlier

Olivier Bault April 2, 2020

Visegrád Group - The first country of the Visegrád group to confirm cases of COVID-19 on its territory was Czechia on March 3. The remaining three countries quickly followed suit, as many people were returning from their winter holidays in such places…

Society

Poland against the coronavirus: the right measures at the right time?

Olivier Bault March 31, 2020

Poland - Almost four weeks after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Poland (a Polish national returning from Germany who was tested positive on March 4), the measures taken by the government seem to have had a positive impact, like…

Society

Coronavirus –the V4 react at an earlier stage than Western Europe

Olivier Bault March 19, 2020

By Olivier Bault. Visegrád Group – With the Chinese 2019 coronavirus having arrived on their territory in early March, we will have to wait at least a few weeks before we can assess the effectiveness of measures taken at an early…

Society

Media pluralism in Poland and Hungary compared to France

Olivier Bault March 5, 2020

By Olivier Bault. Originally published in English on Kurier.plus. Poland/Hungary/France - The 2019 edition of the World Press Freedom Index puts Poland and Hungary respectively in 59th and 87th position out of 180 countries. 2019 World Press Freedom Index. Source: https://rsf.org/en/ranking Both…

Society

Self-proclaimed “LGBT ideology-free”local communities in Poland

Olivier Bault February 29, 2020

By Olivier Bault. Poland - Since March 2019 a growing number of local authorities in Poland, in particular in regions dominated by PiS, have been affirming their opposition to LGBT ideology by adopting a Charter for the Rights of the Family or…

Politics

Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Poland: some shared interests but opposing visions of a post-Brexit EU

Olivier Bault February 17, 2020

By Olivier Bault. Poland - This time the French mainstream media were much more vocal than during the French president’s October meeting with the Hungarian premier in Paris. Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Warsaw on February 3–4 was described as a turning point…

Politics

Poland: review of the year 2019

Olivier Bault January 21, 2020

By Olivier Bault. Poland - Two elections won by PiS, a thriving economy, a general offensive by the LGBT lobby, and an endless conflict with Brussels. After the partial victory of PiS and its allies in the municipal and regional elections in…

Interviews

Tomasz Przesławski (Polish Supreme Court judge): “Many of the current actions of representatives of the legal professions can be seen as a threat to basic legal values”

Olivier Bault January 8, 2020

Interview with Tomasz Przesławski, Polish Supreme Court judge defending the judicial reforms carried out by PiS: "Many of the current actions of representatives of the legal professions can be seen as a threat to basic legal values, causing chaos in the legal…

Politics

Polish democracy defends itself against EU-supported judges

Olivier Bault January 3, 2020

By Olivier Bault. Poland - Parliamentary democracy in Poland defends itself against EU-supported judicial activism. As was to be expected, only two months after Poland’s parliamentary elections, which gave the United Right coalition led by the Law and Justice (PiS) social-conservative party…