Protests In Poland Prevent Government Consolidation

A woman holding a copy of Poland’s constitution with a black ribbon shouts slogans in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, July 24, 2017. Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that he will veto two contentious bills widely seen as assaults on the independence of the judicial system. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)
A woman holding a copy of Poland's constitution with a black ribbon shouts slogans in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, July 24, 2017. Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that he will veto two contentious bills widely seen as assaults on the independence of the judicial system. Alik Keplicz/AP
A woman holding a copy of Poland’s constitution with a black ribbon shouts slogans in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, July 24, 2017. Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that he will veto two contentious bills widely seen as assaults on the independence of the judicial system. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)
A woman holding a copy of Poland's constitution with a black ribbon shouts slogans in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, July 24, 2017. Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that he will veto two contentious bills widely seen as assaults on the independence of the judicial system. Alik Keplicz/AP

Protests In Poland Prevent Government Consolidation

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Following weeks of protests, Poland’s President has decided to veto a controversial measure to consolidate the country’s courts. The move was proposed by the majority Law and Justice party (PiS), a right-wing populist party which has been in power since 2015. Many feared the judicial consolidation would tear the country’s two-decade-old democracy apart, and pave the way for PiS to stay in power.

To learn more about the protests and Poland’s constitutional crisis, Worldview is joined by Carl Bindenagel, a Chicago-based freelance political analyst.