Presidential elections were planned for May 10th in Poland. The ruling PiS-party was determined to hold the election despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but was forced to cancel it last minute as political pressure became too high. The current state of democracy and rule of law in the country has already been criticised for some time. In this interview, Maria Skóra, Head of the Programme International Dialogue at Das Progressive Zentrum, explains how the government is using the current health crisis to its advantage – and how this undermines democracy.

Over the course of three years, the project New Urban Progress is set to promote an exchange of ideas on how to deal with local challenges in Germany and the USA. It focuses on the role of cities in inclusive growth and sustainable innovation.