Miscellaneous
Where does democracy start? "As local as possible!" Ever since 2002, Jacek Lipiński has managed to remain a liberal and progressive mayor of a small rural town in the middle of Central Poland's conservative heartland. Joined by his son Lech, Lipiński explains how he brought democratic politics back to the people of small-town life in Aleksandrów Łódzki, despite the dangers of illiberalism, polarisation and authoritarianism. In a time of repression all across the East of Europe, from Belarus to Hungary and from Armenia to Azerbaijan, the town of Aleksandrów Łódzki seems to be a little light in the darkness. Painting: "Dożynki" (1910), by Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski