Poland’s Law and Justice party, known for its nationalist and populist policies, has been voted out after eight years in power. Image: Maksym Kozlenko via Wikimedia Commons
Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS), known for its nationalist and populist policies, has been voted out after eight years in power in favour of the Civic Coalition, led by Donald Tusk.
The Civic Coalition is the unlikely union of Poland’s economically liberal and Christian Democratic Third Way party, and the socially progressive New Left.
Following Sunday’s election, the Law and Justice party (PiS) won the majority vote at 35 per cent, but is unlikely to form a coalition to rival the Third Way and New Left, who took a combined 52 per cent of the vote.
The coalition is united in its desire to reinstate EU law and repair relationships with its European neighbours, including a promise from Tusk to unblock almost 36 billion euros in EU funds withheld from Poland by Brussels due to disputes over judicial independence.
Two years ago, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of the PiS declared EU law to be “incompatible” with the Polish constitution, creating a rift between Poland and the EU.
Political analyst Kastor Kuzelewski from the think tank Polityka Insight spoke about the developments.
“What all the parties that will form the future government have in common is this attachment to the European Union and European values,” said Kuzelewski.
“They are made up of politicians with very different views, but all of them are ideologically anti-populist and anti-nationalist, so there is a common minimum which is a negative minimum, an anti-PiS minimum.”
“Not everything will radically change. There will be a transition, with a reduced margin for manoeuvre.”
After eight years in power, the PiS has established considerable support and a number of political mechanisms, including its media and judiciary systems, that may prove challenging for the new government to dismantle.
Furthermore, the alliance between Third Way and the New Left is an unusual one, and some predict the coalition will struggle to agree on key issues.
For instance, Szymon Holownia, one of Third Way’s leaders, announced an end to “government handouts” in reference to the considerable social spending of the PiS.
However, this would appear to be in opposition to the values of the New Left, who have been vocal in their support of increased social security and fighting inequality.
Furthermore, the New Left support unrestricted access to abortions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy, a policy which the Christian Democratic Third Way may be unlikely to align with.
“For years we haven’t had such a diverse coalition government in Poland, in which not only interests clash, but also the vision on the state and society,” Kuzelewski said.
“After eight years, there is a lot to fix that all the parties agree with. The problem will arise once these groups will have to form constructive policies.”
