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The anti-refugee sentiment across Europe took a particularly strong hold in Poland this past October,when a new conservative political party, the Law and Justice Party, or came into power. Since the election,critics of the new government say there has been a methodical dismantling of any checks and balances that existed under the previous party - from military leadership, to the state media, or even to the highest judicial body in the country: the Constitutional Court. Kim Lane Scheppele is with the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton. She says that Poland's power grab illustrates some of the central weaknesses in the European Union,and is straight out of a familiar play book that's been used before in countries like Hungary and Romania. whether the Law and Justice Party continues to remain in power, she says, and there is the potential that they could be able to consolidate power for years to near,despite what the populace may want.
Source: wnyc.org