Poland’s prime minister gets the chop

ON DECEMBER 6TH Beata Szydlo, then Poland’s prime minister, was the special guest on Radio Maryja, a conservative radio station that is close to the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party. Her appearance was overshadowed by something everyone had known for weeks: Mrs Szydlo was on her way out. And indeed by the following evening, she was thanking Poles for her two years in office. On December 11th Mateusz Morawiecki, her deputy, was installed as prime minister. Mrs Szydlo was allowed to stay on; but she is now her former deputy’s deputy.

The switch was ordered by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, PiS’s reclusive party leader. Despite earlier speculation, the 68-year-old did not take the job for himself—as he had in 2006, during PiS’s first stint in power. The government is now headed by a more emollient figure: a former banker who also continues to head the ministries of finance and economic development. Mr Morawiecki served in 2010 as an economic adviser to Donald Tusk, who was then prime minister (and is now president of the European Council). PiS and its nationalist followers loathe the liberal Mr Tusk. But Mr Morawiecki, who did not join PiS until March 2016, has won Mr Kaczynski’s trust.

Within PiS, Mr Morawiecki is a relative moderate. Yet in his first interview as prime minister-designate, with TV Trwam, Radio Maryja’s television counterpart, he called for the “rechristianisation” of Europe. “In many places carols are not sung, churches are empty and are being turned into museums,” he said.

With the spotlight on Mr Morawiecki, PiS has pushed on with its overhaul of the judiciary, which it describes as an “extraordinary caste”. On December 8th, after months of deadlock, the lower house of parliament approved modified versions of two laws that had been vetoed by Andrzej Duda, the president, in July. One of them strengthens parliament’s, and so PiS’s, influence over the National Judiciary Council, which appoints judges. The other affects the Supreme Court, which, among other duties, rules on the validity of elections. About 40% of its 80-odd judges will have to stand down. The new law sets a retirement age of 65—but gives the president discretion to retain older judges if he approves of them. The new laws mean that all the courts will be politicised, warns the head of a judges’ association.

Worldlier than his predecessor, Mr Morawiecki will try to improve the Polish government’s image. Yet patience may be running out. The European Commission, which has challenged the judicial reforms for undermining the independence of the courts, has been awaiting the laws’ final wording before deciding how aggressively to pursue infringement proceedings against Warsaw. Commission sources say that if the laws are signed in their current state, the sanctions procedure will immediated be triggered. A decision this week to fine a broadcaster for the way it covered opposition protests also fuels concern.

Halfway through its term, PiS remains popular, buoyed by its extravagant welfare policies, especially generous child subsidies. A poll last week puts its support at 41%, far ahead of the two main centrist opposition parties, on a combined 29%. As Poland heads towards local elections next year, followed by parliamentary ones in 2019, PiS is emphasising continuity. After all, the country’s real boss—Mr Kaczynski—will not be changing any time soon.