A controversial decade. Duda's presidency, which divided the nation

Andrzej Duda defeated Bronisław Komorowski in 2015. Many people saw Duda as fresh air. Source: Wikimedia Commons. licence – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike. Author – Michał Józefaciuk, Chancellery of the legislature of Poland

Doctor of Legal Sciences, initially a little-known politician, and for a decade the president of Poland. During the 2010 general election, Andrzej Duda ran unsuccessfully for president of Krakow, taking 3rd place. In 2014, he obtained a mandate of a Euro MP. A milestone in his career was a triumph in the second circular of the 2015 presidential election. How did Andrzej Duda hold the position of president of Poland? What benefits and damages did Poland have for 10 years of its presidency?

Law and Justice is simply a organization from which the political embrace of Andrzej Duda did not "release" through the full presidency. Its ideological assumptions are based on national and social conservatism. Among another things, PiS opposes the legalization of abortion, euthanasia and partnerships. The politicians of the Law and Justice organization argue that they are attached to Polish traditions and Christian values. The apparent consequence of the clear planet view of the Law and Justice was the controversy of Andrzej Duda as head of state. For his supporters, however, he manifested himself as an perfect candidate. The opponents will remember him mainly as a partner in breaking the Constitution of Poland.

The beginning of the first word of office of Andrzej Duda was marked by confusion in the election of judges to the Constitutional Court. He did not then receive a vow from any of the 5 persons elected by the Sejm of VII. On December 28, 2015, he signed an act to amend the Constitutional Court Act. In the opinion of many legal authorities, including erstwhile TK president Andrzej Zoll, the decision of president Duda violated the Constitution of Poland.

Belvedere Discord

Veto is another of the president's prerogatives. It allows him to reject a legal act already passed by both chambers of parliament, which is straight attributable to the provisions of the Constitution of Poland. At the beginning of his first term, in 2015, Andrzej Duda vetoed 4 PO-PSL government laws. The rejection of 2 of them caused considerable public unrest. The first was about how sex was agreed. The law was designed to find the ways in which sex identity and metric sex were to be determined. The second was to amend the Act on National and cultural Minorities and Regional Languages. Last year, the amendment of the Act met again with Duda's rejection. Another controversial decision of the president was the pardon of 4 people, including associate Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik. Parliamentarians and another erstwhile heads of CBA heard the conviction for exceeding the powers and illegal operations of CBA during the regulation of the PiS-Liga of Polish Families-Samoobron from 2006 to 2007. This was the first case erstwhile the president reached for the law of grace without waiting for the judgement of the second instance. For this reason, the first pardons of Wąsik and Kamiński were to prove to be invalid during Duda's second term. The same year, a paper was published on the President.pl website, which listed many achievements of the head of state during his first word of office. These included support for the 500+ project, the adoption of fresh programmes for seniors, the raising of minimum wage and increased military safety or the UN. While these initiatives and actions can be praised, the strong link between the president and the political organization and the far-reaching interference in the functioning of the judiciary cannot be forgotten.

New term, fresh controversy

As head of state Andrzej Duda made many abroad trips. Source: Wikimedia Commons. licence – Public domain. Author – The White House

2020 brought Andrzej Duda another triumph in the presidential election. His election slogan was “President of Polish Affairs”. Duda opposed the Citizen Coalition candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski, presenting himself as a countryman, mundane, but besides worthy of presidential format. Many controversy has sparked both the Duda run attacking sexual minorities and the overwhelming commitment of state institutions to his fight for re-election.

In December 2023, the territory court again sentenced Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, this time for 2 years imprisonment, in connection with the 2007 "ground affair". In 2009, they heard the charge of exceeding their powers and committing crimes against the reliability of the documents. Duda insisted for many days that his first pardon had legal effect, even though the judgments of Kamiński and Wąsik were not final at the time of his release. The president decided to hide politicians in the Presidential Palace. Only after their arrest did he give the second, this time legally, pardon.

Last year, the president refused to sign a bill on the alleged "day after" tablet. This decision sparked criticism from liberal groups and supporters of safe, sexual activity. Emergency contraception was to be available to women under 18 without a visit or medical check. “The basic justification for the decision of the president of the Republic of Poland is the will to respect constitutional rights and the standard of kid wellness protection.”

The years of Andrzej Duda's presidency were definitely intense. Due to the strong ideological breakdown among Poles, any people justice this time positively, others negatively. These divisions will most likely be reflected in the results of the upcoming presidential elections. In May we will decide as the nation that Poland needs to be president after 10 years of Duda's office.

Nicole KRAKOWSKA