In a state that claims to prize free enterprise and limited government, this new law in practice imposes a political gag order on investors, while shielding corporate management from scrutiny.

Bayer has cut more than one in 10 jobs since the launch of a sweeping restructuring programme aimed at streamlining decision-making and reducing layers of management.

Karol Nawrocki, Poland’s newly inaugurated rightwing president, has vowed to oppose Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s efforts to reform the judiciary, raising the prospect of an extended institutional ...