How Poland’s Opposition Won an Unfair Election

The Civic Coalition Is Proof That a Highly Motivated and Well-Organized Campaign Can Win—Even Against a Ruling Party That Cheats

On a blustery day in early October 2023, half a dozen volunteers stood outside a street market in Łódź, Poland’s fourth largest city, handing out flyers, stickers, and cherry cakes. We were campaigning for Aleksandra Wiśniewska, a 29-year-old former humanitarian aid worker and political novice, who was running for parliament from the Civic Coalition (KO) list, the largest Polish opposition party. I was her campaign manager.

Unexpectedly, Zbigniew Rau, the Polish foreign minister and a member of the nationalist-conservative ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), appeared. He interrupted the event and …

How Everyday Britons Forced Their Government to Save Itself

During the 1832 “Days of May,” Citizens Threatened Outright Revolution Until Parliament Passed a Landmark Bill

The legislature had ground to a standstill on countless issues of national import. Special-interest dark money poured freely into the legislative process, and the public could never be sure whose …