“Польско-польская война”: причины и последствия для политической системы

Abstract

The “Polish-Polish War” metaphor describing relations between two major political parties – the “Civic Platform” and “Law and Justice” – has become a regular item in Polish political discourse. The article starts with explaining the origins of this conflict. The authors compare political programs of the two parties and highlight the key stages of the “war”, describing it in detail, focusing on events and factors that contributed to its escalation. The final section explores the effects of the conflict for the political system. Reviewing the background of the “Polish-Polish War” the authors point out that initially, in the late 1980s, major political actors in Poland – the Polish Communist Party and the Trade Union “Solidarity” – reached an agreement which contained core elements for consensus to be developed on the future soft political transition. However, the parliamentary elections of 1993 were won by left-wing parties due to the ongoing fragmentation of the groups derived from the “Solidarity”, as well as transition difficulties that accompanied Poland during radical economic reforms. The early 2000s created a new balance of power in the party system stemming from the disappearance of left-wing parties which had lost electoral support. The two right-wing parties lead by former political companions in the resistance for many years – Kaczynsky brothers and Donald Tusk – became major political rivals. Exploring the development of the “Polish-Polish War” the authors demonstrate how an abusive political rhetoric and aggressive political actions determined the political discourse and changed the sociopolitical atmosphere in Poland later on. More significantly, the mutual aversion continued even when the party leaders had changed, and it is reproduced in public speeches of the new leadership at present. It is concluded that the “Polish-Polish War” had a number of negative effects on the political system. Among them there are: a growing lack of public confidence in political institutions; constraining political development due to the lack of political actors with new ideas and values on the left side of the ideological spectrum, who could potentially re-evaluate the political confrontation, set aside old divisions and supply new socio-political agenda.