Michael O'Shea

Budapest, Pittsburgh

Writer at Freelance

Visiting Fellow at Danube Institute

American-Polish Writer & Visiting Fellow at Danube Institute https://t.co/SdLLZGkUUa 🇺🇸 🇵🇱 🇭🇺 🇸🇰

Articles

What Next for Poland After Nawrocki Victory? » The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator | USA News and Politics

3 weeks ago | spectator.org | Michael O'Shea

It has been a grueling campaign to achieve essentially the status quo. Conservative historian Karol Nawrocki, informally affiliated with the Law and Justice (PiS) party that led governments from 2015 to 2023, won a dramatic victory in Poland’s presidential contest on Sunday. He edged liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski by a margin of 50.89 percent to 49.11 percent.
Polish Voters Again Reject Liberal 'Laboratory' Candidate

3 weeks ago | thefederalist.com | Michael O'Shea

Poland ensured sovereigntist forces went one-for-two in this spring’s transformative presidential elections in Central and Eastern Europe on June 1. Two weeks after the European liberal establishment finalized its power-grab in Romania, conservative historian Karol Nawrocki secured a razor-thin victory over liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski. In fact, Nawrocki snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Exit polls released at poll-closing time suggested a narrow victory for Trzaskowski.
Eurocrats Watch Poland With Bated Breath

1 month ago | theamericanconservative.com | Michael O'Shea

Foreign Affairs Eurocrats Watch Poland With Bated Breath U.S. officials are also closely monitoring the upcoming presidential contest. Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... The message to Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk is clear: America is watching.
Is Poland the Next Victim of Mass Migration?

2 months ago | spectator.org | Michael O'Shea

Visitors to Western Europe have grown accustomed to young male migrants hawking selfie sticks, demanding a few euros, or — most often — simply loitering. Cities behind the former Iron Curtain have largely avoided this transformation. In Warsaw and other Polish cities, slowly but perceptibly, it is occurring in real time.
Time to Ditch the Media and NGO’s Freedom and Democracy Rankings

Mar 18, 2025 | spectator.org | Michael O'Shea

The first months of the new Trump Administration have laid bare the web of government technocrats and NGO activists and their public funding. It has never been easier to disregard the narratives these actors have concocted. Hungarians, then, largely rolled their eyes when Transparency International released its 2024 “Corruption Perceptions Index” earlier this year, and they found themselves tied with Burkina Faso, South Africa, and communist Cuba in the 82nd spot.
Poland Continues to Arrest Political Opponents

Mar 13, 2025 | spectator.org | Michael O'Shea

During his speech at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance summarized a European totalitarian impulse that has been festering for years but has only recently become prominent in American political discourse. The United Kingdom now arrests citizens for speech and even silent prayer.
The Lies Are No Longer Uttered with Impunity: Vance’s Speech and Poland’s Crucial Election

Feb 20, 2025 | spectator.org | Michael O'Shea

It is springtime in the West. This moment recalls the words of Poland’s Cold War-era philosopher Leszek Kołakowski, who asserted, “Obvious lies uttered aloud with impunity are excellent proofs of the health of the system.” The lies are no longer uttered with impunity, and that’s an indication the liberal order is crumbling. Vance’s Hard Truths ResonateVice President JD Vance magnified this new reality in his veritable Zeitenwende speech in Munich last week.
Are the Protests in Slovakia Due to NGO and USAID Interference?

Feb 4, 2025 | spectator.org | Michael O'Shea

Newly minted Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been saying all the right things. His immediate maneuvers on DEI and deportations have set a promising tone. However, his department warrants more tempered optimism than most. For one, his 99-0 Senate confirmation indicates U.S. foreign policy might not have major shakeups in store. More importantly, Rubio’s hawkish track record suggests regime-change adventurism is firmly on the table.
Lessons for Trump from Orbán, Hungary’s ‘Comeback’ Prime Minister

Dec 23, 2024 | spectator.org | Michael O'Shea

“Orbán should have been born in a big country like Germany,” a Hungarian acquaintance once told me, in typical East European fashion. “His genius is wasted in Hungary.”An optimistic observer might retort that everyone has an opinion on Hungary by now — remarkable for a small, landlocked country of under 10 million. It was no surprise, then, to see Prime Minister Viktor Orbán grab headlines with his most recent round of state visits.
Gains for Irish Conservatives May Be Too Little, Too Late

Dec 6, 2024 | spectator.org | Michael O'Shea

Euro Watch Rejection of incumbent parties has been a global theme in a year in which more voters than ever have cast ballots.