Support NeoGAF

[Jackpot]

Taking a page from North Korea it seems.

WARSAW—Amid fears of a rollback of Poland’s democratic freedoms, President Barack Obama had a harsh message of concern during a trip here for a NATO summit. But viewers of Poland’s main evening news program saw exactly the opposite.

Obama’s tough message on Friday, standing alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda, was that he “expressed to President Duda our concerns over certain actions and the impasse around the Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal.”

“More work needs to be done,” Obama said. “And as your friend and ally, we’ve urged all parties to work together to sustain Poland’s democratic institutions.”

But viewers of Telewizja Polska, the main public broadcaster, saw a very different suggestion on the evening news.

“Ninety-five per cent of the meeting was about issues of NATO and security, but Obama praised Polish efforts at democracy,” the reporter said. “Concerning the issue of the constitutional tribunal, he said he is sure that spreading democratic values in Poland will not stop.”

In the clip played on Polish television, Obama was also translated by a dubbed voice-over as saying that “Poland is and will be an example of democracy for the whole world.”

What he actually said was that “Poland stands and needs to continue stand as an example for democratic practices around the world.”

More than 100 journalists have been dismissed or have resigned from Poland’s public broadcaster this year, a measure of the major changes underway there. Some journalists say that anyone perceived as critical of the Law and Justice party is now under threat. Shortly after the party took office, it changed laws giving Poland’s Finance Ministry the direct power to appoint the head of the broadcaster. The new head is Jacek Kurski, a member of the Law and Justice party and a former member of European Parliament.

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/...lish-democracy-gets-twisted-on-polish-tv.html

 

[Condom]

Quite a sad situation in Poland now politically but I don't think there is much of an alternative to law and justice afaik. Although I only know a little about the politics there.

From what I've seen things were pretty good economically though so it's weird seeing the country attracted to such kind of party. The previous government must have been corrupt as hell.

Would be cool if Polish GAF chimed in for an actual informed perspective on thins.

 

[Grimm Fandango]

More than 100 journalists have been dismissed or have resigned from Poland’s public broadcaster this year, a measure of the major changes underway there. Some journalists say that anyone perceived as critical of the Law and Justice party is now under threat. Shortly after the party took office, it changed laws giving Poland’s Finance Ministry the direct power to appoint the head of the broadcaster.

This is unsettling. And yeah sounds like something from a dictatorship.

 

[Aztechnology]

Whoa whoa. Can someone fill me in what's been going on in Poland with the freedom of press and Law and Justice party? I'm completely our of the loop on this (U.S based and haven't heard, watched or read anything about this.)

 

[Ragnar Blackmane]

This is unsettling. And yeah sounds like something from a dictatorship.

Well, the PIS party doesn't want to have to worry about not getting re-elected ever again. They're "just" taking the steps needed to ensure that.

 

[Hasemo]

Quite a sad situation in Poland now politically but I don't think there is much of an alternative to law and justice afaik. Although I only know a little about the politics there.

From what I've seen things were pretty good economically though so it's weird seeing the country attracted to such kind of party. The previous government must have been corrupt as hell.

Would be cool if Polish GAF chimed in for an actual informed perspective on thins.

People trusted various politicians, but the truth is that the people in power didn't change for the last... 30? 40? years. It's mostly the same faces, forming different parties and being chosen in one shape or another over and over again. At least that's how I feel, but politics is way too frustrating to follow closely.

 

[chaobreaker]

People trusted various politicians, but the truth is that the people in power didn't change for the last... 30? 40? years. It's mostly the same faces, forming different parties and being chosen in one shape or another over and over again. At least that's how I feel, but politics is way too frustrating to follow closely.

So... They vote in a extremist party that suppresses freedom of the press? Did anyone have any idea what this new party was capable of?

 

[Ragnar Blackmane]

So... They vote in a extremist party that suppresses freedom of the press? Did anyone have any idea what this new party was capable of?

AFAIR it's an old conservative party that last ruled up to 2006 or something without causing that much of a ruckus. It seems that they radicalized massively in their decade of being opposition and are now as nationalist right wing as it gets without becoming outright Nazis, actively trying to destroy the judicative (so they can't oppose them reforming the constitution as they see fit), gagging the opposition and turning the press into their propaganda mouth piece Russia-style. People probably didn't see that coming when they voted for them.

Seems rather similar to what the NSDAP was doing in 1933-1935, undermining and gutting the constitution, press and law system to make sure that there isn't a chance that they'll lose power during the next "election". We'll see if they're willing enough to create a Reichstagsbrand style situation to completely take over or if they'll try to do it in more subtle ways. It also teaches a lesson what would happen if right-wing nationalist parties like the Front Nationale or Austrian FPÖ win elections and get to rule the country (the former likely to happen sooner or later, the latter being extremely likely to happen later this year).

 

[zonezeus]

To be fair it wasn't mistranslated or even taken out of context, but they "somehow" omitted the first part of his speech criticizing the government, so the material they showed doesn't convey the entirety of Obama's message, which is still a dick move, just of different flavour.

@Press freedom in Poland: Private media are fine, public media are being reshaped to fit the new government's message. As it was always the case in Poland whenever one ruling party took the wheel from the other.

@Law and Justice's sweeping win in the last elections: Some mistakes going as far back as to the transformative period between communism and capitalism and prelevant neoliberał agenda that have been ruling the economic developement since then have left large groups of people disenfrichesed. As of 2015 when the elections took place Poland had de facto degressive taxes, a large number of Poles working unsteady jobs with low wages, very often with so called "junk contracts" which didn't even offer medical insurance of any sort or paid leave, no social safety nets, no social housing, virtually no social benefits or help of any sort. At the same time the previously ruling party was hit with a few corruption and PR scandals, so the keg was ready to blow and it in fact did.

AFAIR it's an old conservative party that last ruled up to 2006 or something without causing that much of a ruckus. It seems that they radicalized massively in their decade of being opposition and are now as nationalist right wing as it gets without becoming outright Nazis, actively trying to destroy the judicative (so they can't oppose them reforming the constitution as they see fit), gagging the opposition and turning the press into their propaganda mouth piece Russia-style. People probably didn't see that coming when they voted for them.

Seems rather similar to what the NSDAP was doing in 1933-1935, undermining and gutting the constitution, press and law system to make sure that there isn't a chance that they'll lose power during the next "election". We'll see if they're willing enough to create a Reichstagsbrand style situation to completely take over or if they'll try to do it in more subtle ways. It also teaches a lesson what would happen if right-wing nationalist parties like the Front Nationale or Austrian FPÖ win elections and get to rule the country (the former likely to happen sooner or later, the latter being extremely likely to happen later this year).

This is some extreme exaggeration.