>Some of its member states, like Hungary and Poland, are still immature barely-liberal regimes with more than a whiff of political repression (“flawed democracies”).

Seriously? You must be reading the media that push the narrative a country is democratic if allies of EPP(the largest EU party) win the elections there consistently otherwise it is a horrible autocracy. Imagine people actually voting for who they want for and these people than rule, without asking Brussels for permission! What audacity! They even had the audacity to veto ACTA (remember that)!

It is extremely funny the ruling party that is called "undemocratic" after ruling for 8 years in Poland has now(last Sunday) essentially lost power in democratic elections with the highest voter turnover ever. If this is what happens in a "flawed democracy" I'd not want to live in an "unflawed one".

Also, you seem to be against the overtly autocratic laws proposed by the EU commission like this monitoring law. Perhaps you don't know the party that just has won the election in Poland (the so called "democratic opposition", why democratic? Because democracy is only when they win of course.) is led by Donald Tusk, who was the leader of the previous EU council and is/was the deputy of EPP, the biggest party in Europe (guys that want to pass the law you're so much against).

So where did these "undemocratic" claims come from? In Hungary allegedly there are some curbs on freedom of speech etc. But in Poland? No, the biggest proof is that there are plenty of opposing media (that's why the opposition won).

So why?

Well. The EPP-aligned Po party in Poland when they miserably failed the elections in 2015 immediately started claiming the now ruling party is "undemocratic" (*both parties actually broke the constitution regarding the highest court so there was a typical "pot calling kettle black" situation - that wasn't even the biggest argument, the biggest argument was that they were "power hungry" by rightfully and legally taking power in a country where the majority voted for them by electing their own officials into various state enterprises etc - stuff every single party did before and will do after).

Time has passed, the ruling party has made stupid mistakes, they pissed lots of people by being too religious and pushing their worldview on everyone including myself(for example the high court members elected by them made a ruling you can't abort a pregnancy just because the foetus has a deadly disease, it has always been legal to abort if the mother is in danger) on everyone, but what they also did is they actually fulfilled a number of promises they made prior to the elections. Perhaps that is normal where you live, but it Poland it wasn't. It was normal not just to completely forget all your promises, but to pass laws directly opposing them. They were the only party that actually did what they said they will, also they found and stopped corruption and vat fraud that amounted to 50% more money in the budget during their rule, huge number of roads, motorways etc were built. Also they (called "far right in the west, funny again" increased child benefits essentially getting rid of child poverty). So they won the next election. They continued doing what they did before, but then covid happened and they made stupid mistakes, they were suspicions of corruption on buying respirators etc. Then Russia and Belarus started picking up tens of thousands of people from middle east and africa, flying them to Belarus (for between $5k and $50k per head depending on "class of travel") and forcing these people to attack the polish border in hope Poland will take them in, they will cause mayhem like everywhere else in Europe unconstrained illegal immigration happened turning Poles anti-immigration (guess why, they were hoping well close the borders on Ukrainians). These were people from mild climate countries being dropped in a middle of a forested area with bogs, rivers etc in winter. They were told if they want to get to Germany they have to attack Polish border guards and they did and still do. Why don't they just ask for asylum in Poland, asking the first border guard they meet? Because they want to go to Germany and asking for asylum in Poland means they would be sent back to Poland by the Germans. Until now Polish border guards have saved over 200 people that were stuck in swamps, or having hypothermia etc. They got free heathcare in Polish hospitals. How many if them claimed asylum in Poland? Less than 50. What happened to the rest? They preferred to be dropped of on Belarusian side of the border hoping to try again to cross illegally later.

In this environment the opposition started making baseless claims about "the forest service building mass graves pits" and other bullshit(despite there being lots of humanitarian organisations there illegally), the government instead said they'll build a 180km border wall in 6 months. The opposition said it will never happen, then the wall was built.

Then the war in Ukraine started and specially in the beginning they handled it very well too. Not only Ukrainians were given the same heathcare and rights to work and run businesses like Polish people, but they got the same benefits. Every single government service in Poland has been translated into Ukrainian. 250k Ukrainian kids went to Polish schools. Poland led by that party was the first country to send 200 tanks to Ukraine, anti helicopter rockets, electricity via a new 500kV interconnector and the government did everything in its power to shame pro-Russian countries like Germany and France to help until they did start helping.

Then the inflation happened, still thanks to good economic policy Poland survived it with one of smallest unemployment rates in Europe. Now the inflation is dropping and people forget about such things when times are better.

However, this "undemocratic" ruling party that won the elections twice (not in a landslide - 90% Erdoğan's Turkey style, but in difficult coalitions both times) seemed to became tiered. The campaign focused only on how Tusk was a horrible corrupt prime minister before, that he was openly Pro Putin's Russia until it wasn't possible anymore and that his first party was funded illegally by German CDU (it is illegal for foreign organisations to fund parties). Younger people didn't remember his rule and the crapoy campaign from the "undemocratic" ruling party in connection with that it is unlikely to win for the third time meant they lost. They, as a single party, got the most votes, but the "democratic" opposition has more votes together so they basically lost.

As for the stupid claims of spying on "opposition and some journalists" the only proof is that pegasus was found on their phones and one of these people was being investigated at the time (in connection with illegal party funding). How do you know it was Polish police that used Pegasus and not Russia, Israel or any number of other countries? And if they did, what proof is there for it being done illegally? If it happened it required court order and if it did well know everything about it now that the "undemocratic" government lost power in democratic elections.