The Development of the Polish Party System: a Perspective of the Parliamentary Elections Results

The author analyses the dynamics of the Polish party system in the light of the outcomes of the parliamentary elections in the Third Republic of Poland (since 1989). He exposes especially the last element of that evolution – the 2015 parliamentary election. It resulted in the victory of Law and Justice (PiS) party. For the first time in the history of democratic Poland, the victor was able to create a government without having to negotiate with coalition partners. The success of PiS seems to be a result of the combination of several factors. It would be mistaken to portray an emerging situation as a simple rightist win. PiS to some extent represents a social attitude, typical for the socialist (social-democratic) parties, with some part of the program including a populist message, but with the combination of a conservative approach to several issues and nationalistic stand on a perception of patriotic mood. The important meaning has a support of PiS by the Catholic Church, especially at the grass-roots level. The victory of PiS and forming of the majority government have an important meaning for the functioning of the political parties’ system in Poland. For the first time since 1989, there were not balancing of power situation which the coalition governments have brought about. The political parties, creating the opposition in parliament, must offer a new strategy of behaviour in such circumstances, especially dealing with challenging the PiS policy to compromise a democratic system based on the 1997 Constitution, e.g. division of power, position of the Constitutional Tribunal and functioning of the judiciary

References:

• Antoszewski, A. (1995). "Polish reception of the western patterns of political competition". Polish Political Science, 25, pp. 5-17.
• Antoszewski, A. (2008). "Transformacja polskiego system partyjnego po 2005 roku". Athenaeum, 19, pp. 11-25.
• Antoszewski, A. (2010). Parties and Party Systems in the EU Member States at the Turn of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Wrocław: Instytut Politologii Wydziału Nauk Społecznych Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego.
• Arnston, M. (2016). Poland’s Law and Justice Party: The European Union and Its Swing to the Right. Claremont: Claremont McKenna College.
• Bertoa, F.C. (2015). "Polish Politics in 2015: All the Power to the Right". The Plot. Retrieved from www.the-plot.org/2015/12/09/polish-politics-in-2015-all-the-power-to-the-right. 
• Bobrowski, R. (2007). "Poland’s Wrong Choice: the Polish Political Scene and its Influence on the Creation of the Country’s Foreign and Security Policy". International Issues and Slovak Foreign Policy, 16(2), pp. 65-74.
• Boyle, M.J. (2016). "The Coming Illiberal Order". Survival , 58(2), pp. 35-66.
• Crawford, C. (October 26, 2015). "Who are Poland’s victorious Law and Justice party, and what do they want". The Telegraph.
• Cześnik, M. (2014). "In the Shadow of the Smolensk Catastrophe—The 2010 Presidential Election in Poland". East European Politics & Societies and Cultures, 28(3), pp. 518-539.
• Fleming, M. (2006). "The 2005 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections in Poland: The Geography of Abstention". Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, 14(2), pp. 91-118.
• Foundation of Robert Schuman (2015). "The conservative opposition running favourite in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Poland". European Elections Monitor, 25th October 2015.
• Gendźwiłł A. & Żółtak T. (2014). "Why Do Non-partisans Challenge Parties in Local Politics? The (Extreme) Case of Poland". Europe-Asia Studies, 66(7), pp. 1122-1145.
• Górka, M. (2010). "Dylematy i paradoksy identyfikacji ideologicznych w okresie transformacji". Civitas. Studia z filozofii polityki, 12, pp. 77-108.
• Grabowska, M. (1993). "Political Parties in Post-Communist Poland. Disenchantments and Uncertain Chances". Sisyphus, 9(1), pp. 55-74.
• Gwiazda, A. (2009). "Poland's quasi-institutionalized party system : the importance of elites and institutions". Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 10(3), pp. 326-349.
• Jasiewicz, K. (2000). "Dead Ends and New Beginnings: the Quest for a Procedural Republic of Poland". Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 33(1), pp. 101-122.
• Jaskiernia, J. (2015a). "Influence of the European Democratic Standards on the Constitutional Development in Poland after 1989". Armenian Journal of Political Science, 1, pp. 19-38.
• Jaskiernia, J. (2015b). "Poland" In D.M. Viola (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of European Elections (pp. 608-632). London-New York: Routledge.
• Jaskiernia, J. (2015c). "The Presidential Model in the Republic of Poland – Constitutional Foundations and Political Practice". In B. Řichová, R. Kubicki & A. Walter (Eds.), Rethinking the Presidency: Challenges and Failures (pp. 79-98). Trnava: University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius.
• Jaskiernia, J. (2016). "Transformacja system partyjno-politycznego w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej". In: M. Gołoś & W. Sokołowski (eds), Procesy społeczno-polityczne we współczesnej Europie Zachodniej (pp. 13-30). Chełm: Wyższa Szkoła Stosunków Międzynarodowych i Komunikacji Społecznej w Chełmie.
• Jaskiernia, J. (2007). "Wybory parlamentarne 2005 roku a tendencja do cofania legitymizacji partiom rządzącym w Polsce". In: A. Kasińska-Metryka (ed.), Polacy wobec wyborów 2005 roku (pp. 29-51). Kielce: Wydawnictwo Akademii Świętokrzyskiej.
• Karolewski, I.P (2016). "Protest and Participation in Post-Transformation Poland: The Case of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD)". Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 49(3), pp. 255-267.
• Kessel, van, S. (2013). "A Matter of Supply and Demand: the Electoral Performance of Populist Parties in Three European Countries".Government and Opposition, 48(2), pp. 175-199.
• Kunovich, R.M. (2013). "Political Knowledge in Poland". Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 46(1), pp. 65-78.
• Kuvaldin S. & Guschin A. (2015), "Poland 2015: A Year of Political Transformations". Russian International Affairs Council. Retrieved from http://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/polsha-2015-god-politicheskikh-transformatsiy.
• Lang,  K.-O. (2007). "Populist in ‘Old” and “New’ Europe: Trends and Implications". In M. Bútora, O. Gyárfášová, G. Meseżnikov & W. T. Skladany (Eds.), Democracy and Populism in Central Europe, (pp. 6-14), Bratislava: Institute for Public Affairs.
• Leszczyńska, K. (2016). "The 2015 Elections to the Senate of the Republic of Poland". Polish Political Science Yearbook, 45, pp. 205–218. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2016016. 
• Marcinkiewicz, K., & Stegmaier M. (2016). "The Parliamentary Election in Poland, October 2015". Electoral Studies, 41, pp. 221-224.
• Markowski, R. (2007). "Polish Society, Politics and Elections". The Analyst - Central and Eastern European Review - English Edition, 3, pp. 35-48.
• Markowski, R. (2006). "The Polish Elections od 2005: Pure Chaos or a Restructuring of the Party System". West European Politics, 29(4), pp. 814-832.
• Markowski, R. (2008). "The 2007 Polish Parliamentary Election: Some Structuring, Still a Lot of Chaos". West European Politics, 31(5), pp. 1055-1068.
• Markowski, R (2016). "The Polish Parliamentary Election of 2015: a Free and Fair Election that Results in Unfair Political Consequences". West European Politics, 39(6), pp. 1311-1322.
• Marszałek-Kawa, J. (2016). The Institutional Position and Functions of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland after the Accession to the European Union. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek.
• Marszałek-Kawa, J., & Wawrzyński, P. (2016). "Remembrance, Identity Politics and Political Transitions: a Comparative Study". Polish Political Science Yearbook, 45, pp. 11–21. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2016001. 
• Millard, F. (2002). "The Parliamentary Elections in Poland, September 2001". Electoral Studies, 22(2), pp. 367-374.
• Millard, F. (2003). "Elections in Poland 2001: Electoral Manipulation and Party Upheaval". Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 36(1), pp. 69-86.
• Millard, F. (2006). "Poland's Politics and the Travails of Transition after 2001: the 2005 Elections". Europe-Asia Studies, 58(7), pp. 1007-1031.
• Millard, F. (2007). "The 2005 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections in Poland". Electoral Studies, 26(1), pp. 73-86.
• Ostrogniew, J. (2015). "The Polish Parliamentary Elections of 2015". Counter-Currents Publishing. Retrieved from: www.counter-currents.com/2015/10/the-polish-parliamentary-elections-of-2015. 
• Pałecki, K. (2015). "Democracy without demos?". Polish Political Science Yearbook, 44, pp. 171–192.
• Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza (2015). "Wybory do Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 2015". Wybory do Sejmu i Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 2015. Retrieved from: http://parlament2015.pkw.gov.pl/349_wyniki_sejm. 
• Pontes Meyer Resonde, M. (2005). A Party Family Theory of Party Positions on European Integration: A Polish Case Study. London: London School of Economics and Political Science.
• Public Opinion in the European Union First Results (2015). Brussels: European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication.
• Rae, G. (2008). "Two Rights Make a Wrong? The Remaking of Polish Politics after the 2007 Parliamentary Elections". Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, 16(1), pp. 73-86.
• Rose-Ackerman, S. (2005). From Elections to Democracy: Building Accountable Government in Hungary and Poland, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Smolar, A. (1998). "Poland’s Emerging Party System". Journal of Democracy, 9(2), pp. 122-133.
• Solska, M. (2016). "Ambivalent ‘Good Change’ in Poland". Religion and Society in East and West, 44(9-10), p. 14-15.
• Surwillo, I., Handerson, K., & Lazaridis, G. (2010). "Between Euroscepticism and Eurosupport: the Attitudes of Urban and Rural Populations in Poland 2000-2008". Europa-Asia Studies, 62(8), pp. 1503-1525.
• Szczerbiak, A. (2001). Poles together? : the emergence and development of political parties in Postcommunist Poland. Budapest: CEU.
• Szczerbiak, A. (2002). "Poland’s Unexpected Political Earthquake: The September 2001 Parliamentary Elections". Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 18(3), pp. 41-76.
• Szczerbiak,  A. (2006). 'Social Poland' defeats 'liberal Poland'? The September-October 2005 Polish parliamentary and presidential elections. Brighton: Sussex European Institute.
• Szczerbiak, A. (2008). The birth of a bi-polar party system or a referendum on a polarising government? the October 2007 Polish parliamentary election. Brighton: Sussex European Institute.
• Szczerbiak, A. (2008). When in Doubt, (Re-) Turn to Domestic Politics?: the (Non-) Impact of the EU on Party Politics in Poland. Brighton: Sussex European Institute.
• Szczerbiak, A. (2013). "Poland (Mainly) Chooses Stability and Continuity: the October 2011 Polish Parliamentary Election". Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 14(4), pp. 480-504.
• Tavit, M. (2012)."Party Organizational Strength and Party Unity in Post-Communist Europe". European Political Science Review, 4(3), pp. 409-431.
• Tunkis, P.J. (2016). The Ties that Bind: Do Group Associations among Legislatures Matter for Political Parties?". Problems of Post-Communism, 22 June 2016.
• Tworzecki, H. & Markowski, R. (November 3, 2015). "Did Poland just vote in an authoritarian government?". The Washington Post.
• Wódz, J. (2002). "New Social Partners of Local Power in Poland". International Social Science Journal, 54(172), pp. 239-246.
• Zuba, K. (2009). "Through the Looking Glass: the Attitudes of Polish Political Parties Towards the EU Before and After Accession". Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 10(3), pp. 326–349.
• Zubek, R. (2008). "Parties, Rules and Government Legislative Control in Central Europe: The Case of Poland". Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 41(2), pp. 147-161.
• Żmigrodzki, M. & Sokół, W. (1992/1993). "Functions of Political Parties in Poland at the Time of Systemic Transformation". Polish Political Science, 22/23, pp. 37-48.