Poland’s Ruling Party Adopts “Lex Tusk”, Erdoğan Clinches Victory

President Erdoğan secured his third term in office in the presidential run-off, benefiting from an iron grip on the country, just as Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party deploys his playbook to intimidate the opposition and media ahead of parliamentary elections in October. Rumours that Belarus’ President Lukashenka is in critical condition remain unconfirmed.

Upcoming on Visegrad Insight:

• Wojciech Przybylski explains how a potential new Polish law targeting “Russian interference” threatens democratic security.
• Jan Farfał summarises the mood from the State of the Union summit and how power politics and realism still rule the day.

EU/REGIONAL

• Recep Tayyip Erdoğan defeated Kemal Kilcdaroglu in the second round of presidential elections in Turkey, cementing his grip on the country. He faces the tough task of managing Turkey’s wobbly economy and navigating the country’s foreign policy between often contradicting objectives. Illustrating Turkey’s crucial position in the US-led NATO alliance, the country just became host to a major US anti-missile command.
• The European Parliament may soon come forward with a proposal to strip Hungary of its EU presidency, scheduled for the send half of 2024, over the rule of law issues as well as its veto on sanctioning Russia and supporting Ukraine. Diplomatic sources indicate that there is little appetite for such a move among EU governments, anxious not to allow Hungary’s leader Viktor Orbán to portray his country yet again as a victim of “Brussels oppression” ahead of next year’s EP elections.
• Speculation about the next NATO Secretary General is heating up. Danish PM Mette Fredriksen has offered a soft denial she is in the running, while diplomats speculate British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace could be a frontrunner, too, thanks to his stalwart support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, key positions at NATO HQ in Brussels are being filled. The latest announcement was the appointment of a French executive at Allianz, Marie-Doha Besancenot, as Assistant Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy. None of the senior appointments in recent months, including that of Assistant SG for Executive Management, went to any of the CEE countries, in another signal that the talk about the alliance’s centre of gravity moving east may be far-fetched.

Kyiv repels successive drone attacks

UKRAINE