In the summer of 2023, Poland entered a new political chapter. After eight years of nationalist rule under the Law and Justice party (PiS), the opposition took power, promising a return to democratic standards, stronger ties with Europe, and the restoration of institutional balance. One year later-it was the first summer under the new government — a season of cautious optimism but also of reckoning with what had come before. Something is changing in Poland. And not long ago, it seemed that the countr y was lost to democracy.”

For Stern Magazin