Free Republic

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, buoyed by its popular conservative platform and generous social spending, was widely expected to win Sunday’s election, which is regarded as one of the country’s most momentous since the fall of communism 30 years ago. More than 30 million voters were choosing lawmakers in the 460-seat lower house of parliament, the Sejm, and in the 100-seat Senate. Law and Justice is the first party since the fall of communism to break with the austerity of previous governments, whose free-market policies took a moribund communist economy and transformed it into one of Europe's most dynamic.

Poland has amended its controversial Holocaust law that made it a crime punishable by up to three years in jail to say “Polish concentration camps,” four months after the law went into effect. Polish lawmakers voted on Wednesday by a vote of 388-25, with five abstentions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is pleased that Poland “fully rescinded” clauses in its Holocaust law. “I’m pleased that the Polish government, the parliament, the senate and the president of Poland decided today to fully rescind the clauses that were signed and caused a storm and consternation in Israel and among the international...

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday said that Hungary sees a strong Poland as a vital component of a central European caucus within the European Union and that he would, therefore, block any action to suspend Poland’s voting rights in the EU. The European Commission recently launched proceedings to trigger Article 7 against Poland for breaching European common values and rule of law. “We need to make it clear to the EU that it is pointless to even start proceedings against Poland as there is no chance of seeing it through — because Hungary will be there and form...

Obama hold-over Ambassador Paul W. Jones tried to sabotage Trump’s trip to Poland according to diplomatic sources. Jones attempted to mislead the Trump advance team to believe that the Polish people still love former Polish President Lech Walesa and to hold extensive meetings and photo ops with him. Despite Walesa’s historical achievements during Solidarity, numerous scandals since that time including accusations of his work as a Communist collaborator have altered views of Lech Walesa in Poland. At this point, Lech Walesa has fallen out of favor with much of Poland, and the current Law and Justice Party, which welcomed President...

Hundreds of women have marched in Warsaw to demand greater accessibility to abortion, better working conditions and more state support in raising children. […] Abortion in Poland is allowed when pregnancy endangers the woman’s life, is the result of rape or incest, or when the fetus has an incurable defect. Women’s rights activists are concerned that these regulations may be toughened by the ruling conservative Law and Justice party. …

Poland consolidated its rightwing shift on Sunday as exit polls showed voters had handed an absolute majority in its parliamentary election to Law and Justice, a Eurosceptic party that is against immigration, wants family-focused welfare spending and has threatened to ban abortion and in-vitro fertilisation.

Poland's eurosceptic Law and Justice party (PiS) is on course to unseat the ruling Civic Platform (PO) after eight years in power, an exit poll showed on Sunday …