Jacek Kucharczyk : "EU is the only chance we have for peace and stability"

In the Polish capital Warsaw Euronews meets Jacek Kucharczyk, president of the “Institute of Public Affairs”, a leading Polish think tank. The result of his research: Poles trust more in European Parliament and in European Commission than in Polish Parliament and Polish government. Poles still like the European Union and consider with a huge majority Poland’s EU-membership being positive. So why Poles – known for their pro-European opinions – brought into power a eurosceptic and nationalistic-minded government labelled by many EU neighbors as populistic. How to understand the “Polish paradox”? – The end of communism and later-on accession to the European Union brought huge benefits to Poland, in terms of political stability, economic prosperity, EU-funded infrastructure modernization and rural development. Macroeconomic figures speak a clear language of growth rates and growing income levels. On the other hand a rhetoric of fear emerged in the country, trying to depict “Poland in ruins”, Kucharczyk points out. The researcher sees similarities with the “Leave campaign” in the UK and the election of Trump in the USA – a tendency he calls “post truth policy”.