A path to follow or a journey to the unknown? Brexit in Polish opinion weeklies before and after the referendum

As an unprecedented event in the European history Brexit was an important reference point in the Polish media. The paper analyses how the Polish opinion weeklies, as one of the topmost opinion-forming Polish media, reported on Brexit and assessed the phenomenon. Basing on the content analysis of the four most prominent Polish opinion weeklies it has been concluded that regardless of their editorial line in relating Brexit to the Polish reality and the political situation in Europe this phenomenon was negatively evaluated. All the titles pointed out that it was a crisis for the European Union and a success for Eurosceptics. National politics and national factors such as the problematic situation of the Polish community in the UK played an essential role in its assessment. The topic of Brexit was often referred to Poland’s possible exit from the European structures or loss of an ally who tried to stop the European integration proposed by France and Germany.