The assassination of Gdańsk Mayor Paweł Adamowicz at the hands of a deranged ex-con did not occur in a vacuum. It cannot be separated from the degeneration of public discourse in Poland under the Law and Justice (PiS) government – or from the anti-European nationalism embodied by the PiS and similar parties elsewhere.
BRUSSELS – As the birthplace of Solidarity, the movement that helped bring communism to an end in Europe, Gdańsk has long served as a symbol of freedom and openness. But now the city is coping with the assassination on January 13 of its mayor, Paweł Adamowicz. Simply writing that sentence is a surreal and painful experience for me. The question is what consequences his public murder will have for Poland – and for Europe.
BRUSSELS – As the birthplace of Solidarity, the movement that helped bring communism to an end in Europe, Gdańsk has long served as a symbol of freedom and openness. But now the city is coping with the assassination on January 13 of its mayor, Paweł Adamowicz. Simply writing that sentence is a surreal and painful experience for me. The question is what consequences his public murder will have for Poland – and for Europe.