What happens when democracy goes off the rails? The story of Poland

Police surround Poland's constitutional court, the president confronts the judges, and both sides claim they are defending the rule of law. Our Europe correspondent Dov Gil-Har and legal expert Prof. Yaniv Roznai on a decade-long struggle and the limits of democratic repair.

One night, police surround Poland's constitutional court, the president returns from abroad to confront the judges, and both sides claim they are defending the rule of law. This is one moment in a crisis that has lasted years: after a populist right-wing party changed Poland's state institutions, an election victory was not enough to return democracy to its course. The article examines how the party managed to change institutions to such an extent that the replacement government struggles to repair the damage, and raises the question of what Israel can learn from the Polish experience. Our Europe correspondent Dov Gil-Har and legal expert Prof. Yaniv Roznai analyze a struggle that has lasted a decade and is reaching its peak, and the limits of democratic repair.