Articles by: "Slawomir Sierakowski"
Merkel’s house divided

Divisions within Germany’s ruling coalition over refugees have started to jeopardise Chancellor Angela Merkel’s control of the government. To put down a rebellion launched by her own interior minister, Horst Seehofer of the Bavaria-based Christian …

Will defunding Hungary and Poland backfire?

Discussions surrounding the European Union’s 2021–2027 budget are intensifying, owing to many European policymakers’ insistence that regional development funds be disbursed only to member states that are in compliance with EU rules. Under the Copenhagen Criteria, …

Germany’s populist temptation

Because populism is not an ideology in itself, it can easily appeal to mainstream political parties seeking to shore up flagging electoral support. There are always politicians willing to mimic populist slogans and methods to …

Jarosław Kaczyński’s Jewish question

The Polish government has provoked yet another international crisis, this time by adopting a law that is ostensibly meant to combat the phrase ‘Polish death camps’. The law targets a geographical shorthand, sometimes used abroad, …

How Eastern European populism is different

In 2016, the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s election to the US presidency created an impression that Eastern European–style populism was engulfing the West. In reality, the situation in Western Europe and the …

Mr Trump goes to Warsaw

On Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump will arrive in Poland, where he will meet with Central and Eastern European leaders on Thursday at a summit of the Three Seas Initiative. Also on Thursday, before …

France’s anti-populist populist

Democrats of all stripes have been celebrating the prospect that the pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron—not the far-right National Front’s Marine Le Pen—will be France’s next president. But while Macron’s victory is good news, it does …