New York Times: Kaczyński behaves like a Putin clone

On Wednesday, the New York Times daily published an article, in which it called Jarosław Kaczyński "a Putin clone" and emphasized that Poland is drifting in the wrong direction.

"Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Poland’s governing party, is urging NATO to show Russia that the alliance is strong and united when it holds its summit meeting in Poland this week. Yet he shows no interest in heeding the allies’ warnings about his own government’s authoritarian drift," the article began.

According to the NYT, NATO needs to demonstrate its power and unity to Russia, especially after "Britain's vote to leave the EU has thrown Europe into disarray."

"It is imperative that President Obama leads other NATO leaders in Warsaw in making Mr. Kaczyński understand that behaving increasingly like a Putin clone does not make for a convincing show of unity," the NYT proclaimed.

The daily also mentioned the Polish Constitutional Court (Trybunał Konstytucyjny) issue and the government's stance on control over state media, which led to forcing out more than 160 television employees. "Mr. Kaczyński's concerted assault on the independent judiciary, the media and the security services, and his open disdain for European censure, have created considerable disquiet in the European Union and NATO... Such behavior has also created strains with the United States."

"The Polish government must be told that and more: that the alliance, whose protection they demand, is not only about defending territory, but, perhaps more importantly, about defending shared values," the NYT concluded.