The political consequences of changing the election formula and restrictions on standing for elections – the case of the elections to councils of large and medium-sized cities in the Lower Silesian Voivodship in 2014 and 2018

The main aim of the article is to analyze the relationship between the structure of political rivalry and the solutions adopted under the amendment to the Electoral Code of 2018. The author uses several research methods (system analysis, content analysis, comparative analysis, indexing methods) in order to test the hypothesis according to which the change in the structure of political rivalry in the large and medium-sized cities in the Lower Silesia Voivoideship observed in 2018 is a consequence of: (1) the change in the current election formula, i.e. the introduction of a proportional electoral system in cities that are not cities with poviat rights, and (2) restrictions related to standing for election to legislative authority. The multifactorial analysis of the results of local government elections illustrates the actual scope of changes in the structure of political rivalry.

In the first years after World War II, the effects of the war were eliminated, industry was nationalized, agriculture was collectivized, and annexed areas were merged with the rest of the country. In Lower Silesia, the Polish authorities wanted to implement a development plan. To this end, it was necessary to launch and develop industrial and agricultural production and to prepare means of transport and communication. The task was difficult because the new terrain required solving the problems of social issues, ordering and activating industry and taking initiatives in the area of educational and cultural life. The establishment of enterprises and industrial plants in Lower Silesia was associated with the preparation of an educational and cultural offer for employees, which took the following forms: libraries, common rooms, reading rooms and dance, theater, music, ballet and company orchestras. An important role in the above activities was played by the media: newsreel and Lower Silesian press. They published information about the initiatives of the management of workplaces in the direction of promoting the activity of spending free time by workers and the creation of new places for the development of interests and opportunities for innovative activities. The economic development of the Recovered Territories after the war took place in complex political and social conditions. The problem was the post-war chaos and the limited possibilities of the state, which did not have adequate financial and material resources that had to be allocated for reconstruction. The aim of this article is to present educational initiatives in factories and plants in Lower Silesia after World War II. Drawing attention to the implementation of ideological and political assumptions through the prism of cultural activities with the use of local press.