Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyse leadership in Polish political parties in comparative perspective. In the further parts of this paper, the methods of leader selections, their competitiveness, as well as reasons for their stepping down are discussed. Similarly to the western political parties, the Polish ones have been changing their methods of leadership selection. So far each time it has consisted in a formal increase in the inclusiveness of the selection. The reasons for transferring the rights relating to the leadership selection to party members were brought closer to the premises typical for Westminster democracies rather than the consensual ones. The analysis of the Polish case shows that the internal elections have been characterized by different levels of competitiveness.
Highlights
A rise in the significance of political party leaders has become a clear and basically uncontested trend in contemporary democracies
The growing role of party leaders is accompanied by a change in their selection methods [Pilet, Cross 2014b: 2]
It is a party congress that decides about the selection [Sobolewska-Myślik, Kosowska-Gąstoł, Borowiec 2010: 153], in the case of cartel type parties, the leader is selected directly by party members
Summary
A rise in the significance of political party leaders has become a clear and basically uncontested trend in contemporary democracies. There are six methods of party leader selection They can be chosen (1) by a single person, (2) by a party elite, (3) by parliamentary party group, (4) by a party representative body, (5) by party members, (6) by electorate [Kenig 2009a: 435]. The decentralization itself may mean that the powers have been shifted from the central elite level down to the local (regional) one In this way, the selection may be decentralized, but due to a possible change in the number of the persons taking the decision, the inclusiveness of election may be diminished [Hazan, Rahat 2006: 112]. In October 2001, Maciej Płażyński was elected the leader of the PO [MS 2003], and following his resignation in April 2003, the party
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