Authors: Pedro Henrique de Castro Gonçalves and Beatriz Canazzo Santáguita
Poland's presidential election, in the middle of Covid-19 pandemic, may have changed the course of the country. A close dispute between two candidates, Rafal Trzaskowski, center-right alignment and a liberal policy, had 48,79%, while Andrzej Duda had 51,21% of votes (The country,2020), getting, like this, reelect. The ultra-conservative politician has ruled the country since 2015, in a semi-presidential system, accumulating the post of Head of State with the international portfolio. The Prime Minister, Head of government, determines internal issues. Duda's reelection reflects the ideological issue of the Polish population, since most support their nationalist discourse, religious and contrary to the LGBT group.
Therefore, since his re-election in July 2020, conflicts with the European Union have intensified (EU). In September, there were protests, mainly in the city of Warsaw, as the Polish capital declared itself an “LGBT-free zone”, which means it doesn't support the cause, nor members of that community. In response to this event, the European Union cut the funds of the Warsaw local government, but Poland said it will give money to the city.
Analyzing from this scenario, it can be said that the growth of a more conservative policy can affect this relationship between the European bloc and Poland. These events are repudiated by the EU, as they violate the rights of LGBT people in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. A possible consequence of this fact would be a punishment for the country, as a budget cut, or even not helping the country in the face of the pandemic issue and, to long term, the possibility of withdrawing the country from the bloc for not complying with its principles.
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