Civic Platform Research Articles

Political Preferences of the Ukrainian National Minority in Poland in the Elections to the European Parliament

The paper describes, interprets, and characterizes the results of elections to the European Parliament in Poland based on the voting behaviour of the Ukrainian national minority. In the article, four European elections 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019 were considered. The research hypothesizes is that the Ukrainian national minority could have a distinct voting behaviour from their region of permanent living and voted obviously for the representatives of liberal and leftist political forces rather than for far-right and right, or even far-left candidates on the elections to the European Parliament. In the years 2004-2019, an interesting phenomenon could be observed in the elections to the European Parliament in the area of communes inhabited by the Ukrainian population. In the «Ukrainian» municipalities located in the northern part of Poland, where the electorate was rather liberal (Civic Platform) or possibly anti-system (Self-Defence) the election results did not differ from the rest of the regions. This phenomenon was inherent in both the West Pomeranian and Warmia-Masurian voivodships. On the other hand, in the Komańcza commune, which is located in the Subcarpathian voivodship, in which the conservative electorate has been the strongest, the results of the voting in the “Ukrainian” commune were significantly different from other communes of the region. In other words, the results of the elections in Komańcza were much more similar to the results obtained in northern and western Poland than to the results in the South-Eastern Poland. The article concludes that, in general, those municipalities, where the citizens of Ukrainian descent consist at least 10% of the overall population, vote for more liberal parties to the European Parliament. Instead, the support of rightwing political parties like Law and Justice, Kukiz’15, Korvin Confederation as a right-wing parties is much lower. Even during elections to the European Parliament in 2019, Law and Justice, victorious in the rest of the country, evidently had lower support in “Ukrainian” municipalities. The Civic Platform is perceived as a much more moderate party, guaranteeing, in their opinion, representatives of the Ukrainian minority a greater sense of security and comfort of living in the Polish state.

Between Cooperation and Competition: Electoral Alliances of the Parliamentary Opposition in Poland during the 2018–2019 Series of Three Elections

The 2019 Polish parliamentary elections were the last in a series of three elections held within 12 months (chronologically: local elections, European Parliament election, elections to the Sejm and the Senate). The three consecutive elections opened up the possibility for cooperation within the parliamentary opposition with the aim of political victory. This article examines the relations between opposition groups in 2018–2019. Each election is analyzed in terms of the nature of relations within the opposition as well as cooperation and interparty competition. The hypothesis assumes that the types of relations among parliamentary opposition groups were shaped by the character of the given elections and the decisions taken by individual parties choosing between maintaining their independence and steps to potentially increase their electoral chances. The analysis shows that during the period in question the opposition did not develop a stable unified model of cooperation and that relations between individual groups were dominated by competition; however, depending on the election, cooperation was possible and was pragmatically pursued by the parties, as in the case of the European Coalition. The only stable cooperation was between Civic Platform and Modern.

A Theoretical Model of How Digital Platforms for Public Consultation Can Leverage Deliberation to Boost Democratic Legitimacy

The declining legitimacy of public institutions imperils modern democratic systems, yet deliberative remedies to this problem have not undergone systematic testing. The emergence of robust civic tech provides an opportunity to trace deliberation’s effects on legitimacy. Online civic platforms connecting large publics with democratic governments enable researchers to test the strength of each link that leads from public engagement to institutional legitimacy by way of deliberation. I present such a theoretical model of these linkages and specify sets of working hypotheses regarding public participation, deliberative quality, decision quality, government responsiveness, institutional legitimacy, and opportunities for empowered public engagement.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONSCIOUSNESS IS A KEY DRIVER OF THE TAX SERVICE OF UKRAINE

At the intersection of the past and the future there is a point of present, which, due to external and internal socio-economic requirements, activates the subject himself. In the interrelational phenomena of economic consciousness, which bears its personal direction and in manifestations of external economic activity of the subject, acting as a regulator, relying on empirical studies of a dialectic nature, one of the main studies of our time is economic behavior. All factors are unifying, coordination or contradictions of economic consciousness and behavior still act as a dynamic factor for development and progress, which is a key vector of human-tax relations. Without an individual vision of the universe, the present, personality problems cannot be covered and seen by all sides of economic and social society, based on trust and reliability. The level of trust and reliability characterizes the quality of economic and social consciousness of citizens, business, representatives of enterprises, which manifests itself and increases in the development of the interrelationships of civil society and carries results for the tax service. Formulation of the goals and objectives of the article (setting a task). A large amount of research on social consciousness, a wide and varied direction of studying the direction and connection with other disciplines helps to more closely reveal the problems of society and the individual. The purpose of the study is to separate and determine the individuality of a person in the process of economic and social consciousness, attitude and manifestations of personality and group behavior at all levels of this concept, analysis, specificity and structural content exactly inherent in the tax component. Methodology. During the study, to study and achieve the goal, the analysis of theoretical aspects and generalizations of scientific sources, dialectical cognition of formation and manifestations of social consciousness of a person when paying taxes, found a kind of economic concept, methods of induction and deduction, abstraction of theoretical provisions and dialectic cognition were carried out. Results. The article raises the issue of the importance of social consciousness of the country's tax service for further socio-economic growth and improvement of people's lives, on the basis of intergroup and interpersonal interactions and relationships at a high micro level, on the foundation of trust and cooperation between society and government, unified work and development of state, economic, civic platforms. It is with a person that the mechanism of development, accumulation and effective use begins, so it is the social consciousness of the individual that carries the basis for the further development of the state. The analysis of elements and component of socio-economic consciousness in the individuality of a person in the economic system is carried out and the main components, such as trust and reliability, are determined. The analysis of economic behavior of the individual when making a rational decision in the world of economic changes of the tax service is carried out. The practical component of the main provisions of the concept and levels of social consciousness, and its role in the general concept of the economic component can further develop and be used in the process of developing the analysis and development of the individual with individual behavior and personal decision-making for the fiscal service when paying taxes. Value/originality. The theory of socio-economic consciousness itself is not new, but the direction of study and application of individual characteristics of taxpayers is new and little researched, so it gives a new impetus to interest and further development of the detection of theoretical aspects, generalization to definition and essence, outlining the main directions of development and formation for the future.

Resisting Resolution: Enterprise Civic Systems Meet Community Organizing

Notions of the smart city look to mobilize information technology to increase organizational efficiency, and more recently, to support new forms of community engagement and involvement in addressing municipal issues. As cities turn to civic enterprise technology platforms, we need to better understand how that class of system might be positioned and used to collaborate with informal community-born coalitions. Beginning in 2019, we undertook an embedded collaborative research project in Albany Georgia, a small rural city, to understand three primary research questions: (1) How do community organizing practices take shape around joint initiatives with local government? (2) What data, tools, and process are needed to support those initiatives? (3) How do the affordances of City-run enterprise platforms support such community-born initiatives? To develop insight into these questions, we deployed a mixed-methods study that interwove participant observation, qualitative fieldwork, and participatory workshops. From this, we point to several mismatches that arose between the assumptions of a managed enterprise environment and the complex needs of establishing and supporting a multiparty community coalition.

THE ROLE AND BEHAVIOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL

At the intersection of the past and the future there is a point of present, which, due to external and internal socio-economic requirements, activates the subject himself, when uniting the sciences of economics and sociology, as well as psychology, philosophy and law, we see the development of a new scientific direction - social capital. Interdisciplinary and multi-vector methodological conception on development has the capabilities to use in all spheres of life, to develop a more productive and inclusive economy because it works directly with people and for people. The development of society and the formation of institutions of citizenship and economic growth are inherently connected with the new economic and social concept, which is an incentive for self-organization, and the establishment of interpersonal and intergroup relations, leading to a path of harmonization based on sincere help and trust. Formulation of the goals and objectives of the article (setting a task). A large amount of research on social capital, a wide and diverse direction of study directly inhibits the systemicity and orderliness of concepts and theoretical knowledge, so at the beginning of the study it is necessary to put problems, tasks, a place in the knowledge system and connection with other disciplines. The purpose of the study is to separate and determine the individuality of a person in the process of social capital, attitude and behavior of the individual and group at all levels of this concept, analysis, specifics and structural content of social capital. Methodology. During the research, to study and achieve the goal, the analysis of theoretical aspects and generalizations of scientific sources, dialectic cognition of the formation of social capital, revealed a kind of economic concept, methods of induction and deduction, abstraction of theoretical provisions and dialectic cognition were carried out. Results. The article raises the issue of the resource of socio-economic growth and improvement, on the basis of intergroup and interpersonal interactions and relationships at a high micro level, on the foundation of trust and cooperation between people, single work and development of state, economic, civic platforms. It is with humans that the mechanism of development, accumulation and effective use begins. The accumulation of individuality in the development of social capital of the economic system and the main components of social capital, such as trust and reliability, are studied. The analysis of economic behavior of the individual when making a rational decision in the world of economic changes is carried out. The practical component of the main provisions of the concept and levels of social capital, and its role in the general concept of the economic component can further develop and be used in the process of developing the analysis and development of the individual with individual behavior and personal decision-making. Value/originality. The theory of social capital itself is new and little-studied, so any vector of study and research gives a new impetus to interest and further development of the detection of theoretical aspects, generalization to definition and essence, outlining the main directions of development and formation for the future.

ПОЛЬСКИЕ ПАРЛАМЕНТСКИЕ ВЫБОРЫ – 2015; 2019: ВОЗМОЖНЫЕ ОБЪЯСНЕНИЯ УСПЕХА АВТОРИТАРНОГО ПОПУЛИЗМА «ПРАВА И СПРАВЕДЛИВОСТИ»

The purpose of the article is to consider the victory of the right-wing populist party Law and Justice (PiS) (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc) in the parliamentary elections of 2015 and 2019. There were analyzed the course, specifics and result of these elections. The possible reasons for the growth of popularity and, consequently, the electoral success of PiS and the fall in support of its main competitor Civic Platform (PO) (Platforma Obywatelska) are given. Then to study a number of possible reasons, explanations that allowed the PiS to come to authoritarian populism, and voters consciously consider the authoritarian-populist party as the ruling one. These are explanations from the point of view of internal party organization, political economy, political sociology, history (the track of dependence), the concept of authoritarian clientism, neo-authoritarianism or authoritarian populism. In the key of this concept, general considerations about the magnitude of the conceptual stretch of labeling PiS as a classic example of right-wing European populism are described, alternative views on the ideological essence of PiS are given. The conclusion also identifies and analyzes the most striking features of the political line of the PiS, the deep foundations and underlying reasons for its orientation and legitimacy, and the main psychosocial and image strategies that generally form a positive image of the PiS in the eyes of its voters.

Zespół rzeczników Platformy Obywatelskiej jako nawiązanie do brytyjskiej instytucji gabinetu cieni

The aim of this article was to analyze the factors that influenced the creation and subsequent activity of the Civic Platform Spokesperson Team in the years 2006–2007. The subject of research was also the genesis of the institution of the Shadow Cabinet and presentation of circumstances surrounding the creation of the Civic Platform. The author's research intention was also to provide answers to the following questions: did the Team of Spokespersons contribute to an increase in public support for Civic Platform in the early parliamentary elections of 2007; did the activity of the Civic Platform's Shadow Cabinet improve the organisation of the political party's communication activities with its external environment, and did it lead to an increase in its advantage over its competitors?

Польська партійна система в період пострадянської модернізації

The current socio-political situation in the European region and in the world is characterized by profound and qualitative changes. The party system of the Republic of Poland is also undergoing significant transformations, objectively related, first, to the logic of the political party system in the country with the beginning of democratization in 1989-1990 and the functioning of political parties, on the other - to European features of political and party systems. For Ukraine, the experience of transformations and peculiarities of the development of the Polish party system is relevant and useful due to the similarity of political, economic, and socio-cultural situation at the beginning of the development of party systems and opportunities to adapt the Polish experience to Ukrainian realities. The object of research is Polish political parties, and the subject of research is the peculiarities of the transformation of the Polish party system. The chronological boundaries of the study cover the period from 1989-1990, when the country began the process of modernization of the party system, to 2019, when the last parliamentary elections took place in the country. The analysis of current publications related to political transformations in Europe and the problems of the Polish political party system shows an active academic discussion about the functioning of the Polish political party system and the factors influencing its functioning. As a result of our research, we have made a number of important conclusions. The transformation of the Polish party system took place in a cycle of modernization - the institutionalization of parties - return to power of the left parties - return to power of the right parties. Voters' sympathies for left-wing parties are explained by the social guarantees they promise to the electorate. The consequence of the institutionalization of the Polish party system is a tendency towards bipartisanship, at least the functioning of large, mass parties, as well as active party competition of political parties for power. The process of building a party system in post-communist Poland was a competition between communist and liberal-democratic forces. The dualistic principle of party division, which is based on the division into "left" and "right", was one of the reasons why the two most dominant political parties in Poland today are the «Civic Platform» and «Law and Justice». It has been established that today's Polish party system is in a cycle of sympathy for the right-wing forces. The victory of the political party "Law and Justice" in the 2015 and 2019 elections and the formation of a majority government, without coalitions with other political forces, led to the destruction of the relative political balance provided by coalition agreements between political parties. Also in the functioning of political parties was found widespread use of manipulative technologies: in intra-party relations, during election campaigns and community service.

Argumentacja filozoficznoprawna w wystąpieniach posłów na posiedzeniach Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej VIII kadencji

The article approximates and critically assesses the philosophical and legal argumentation of deputies contained in their speeches at the sittings of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland of the 8th term (2015–2019). It discusses cases where parliamentarians, among other things, referred to the assumptions of particular philosophical-legal schools; commented on the essence, fea- tures, goals and values of law; argued about the optimal degree of positivisation of moral norms; quoted philosophers. The study revealed the in uence of the party a liation of MPs on their philosophical and legal argumentation. Deputies of the Law and Justice Party more often than others referred in their speeches to the axiology of law and natural law, emphasized the importance of justice and equity in the process of enacting and applying the law, and under- lined the role of social legitimacy of normative acts and court rulings. On the other hand, MPs belonging to the parliamentary opposition — especially the Civic Platform and the Modern Party members — highlighted the formal rule of law, opposed bills perceived as moralistic and confessional, and sought in justice and equity as the criteria for judgements the sources of excessive judicial discretion that threatened legal certainty and security. In the author’s view, the broadly understood philosophy of law has a utilitarian value for the parliamentary debate. It is desirable, however, that MPs’ remarks of a philosophical and legal nature should be part of factual argumentation, and not reduced to super cial rhetoric or linguistic ornamentation.

The Attitude towards John Paul II and References Made to His Person by the Polish Parliamentary Parties from 2005 till 2019 – with Particular Emphasis on the Polish People’s Party, the Law and Justice, the Democratic Left Alliance, and the Civic Platform

The Attitude towards John Paul II and References Made to His Person by the Polish Parliamentary Parties from 2005 till 2019 – with Particular Emphasis on the Polish People’s Party, the Law and Justice, the Democratic Left Alliance, and the Civic Platform

Polityka transatlantycka rządów Prawa i Sprawiedliwości (2015–2019): przesłanki (cz. 1)

Law and Justice party was a “Euro-Atlantic” political party in the whole period of its political existence. Three major characteristic features of political thought in the foreign affairs of Law and Justice party were: 1) an Atlantic course; 2) a concept of realism in the European Union; and 3) postulated subjectivity in the Central Europe and towards the Eastern Europe. Law and Justice party created its own concept of the role of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in the security policy of the Republic of Poland. Law and Justice waited until the occurrence of good conditions to bring the wrought concept into reality. It was more than sure that such conditions will occur in the future. There was no doubt that Russia was danger for the Western hemisphere. Such an evaluation was strengthened in the years 2008–2010 as the consequence of the Russian aggression on Georgia and Smolensk catastrophe. Law and Justice waited to: (1) win the parliamentary elections; (2) the end of the policy of reset in Russian – American relations. The theoretical and ideological premises and the type of political competition in Poland justified a negative evaluation by Law and Justice party of the foreign policy of Poland towards NATO in the period of the left–wing – agrarian government coalition and the government coalition of liberal – agrarian parties. Law and Justice party remained critical of the foreign policy of Poland led by Civic Platform in the scope of its theoretical, conceptual and decisive senses.

Mapping International Civic Technologies Platforms

The new communication paradigm supported by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) puts end-users at the center of innovation processes, thereby shifting the emphasis from technology to people. Citizen centric approaches such as New Public Governance and Open Government in the public management research suggest that government alone cannot be responsible for creating public value. Traditional approaches to public engagement and governmental reforms remain relevant, however our research is more interested in the ability of a networked society to resolve social problems for itself, i.e., without government intervention. In seeking to gain insights into bottom up co-creation processes, this paper aims to collect and generalize information on the international civic technology platforms by focusing on three dimensions: identification of the objectives (content), classification of main stakeholder groups (actors), and definition of co-creative methods (processes). In view of a paucity of research on Civic Technologies, the content analysis will extend the understanding of this growing field and allow us to identify the patterns in their development.

Urban Arrival Infrastructures between Political and Humanitarian Support: The ‘Refugee Welcome’ Mo(ve)ment Revisited

<p>Maximilian Park in Brussels was the site of a makeshift refugee camp for three months in 2015 when the institutional reception system was unable to provide shelter for newly arriving asylum seekers. Local volunteers stepped in, formed a civic initiative and organized a reception area under the banner ‘Refugees Welcome!’ The civic platform which emerged claimed and asserted (existing) rights for one specific group, asylum seekers, exclusively, and thus did not challenge the exclusive migration regime nor demand transformation. While such a humanitarian approach risks reproducing the exclusive border regime and the inequalities it engenders, political<em> </em>support is a disturbing rupture in the name of equality that resists normative classifications and inaugurates transformation. This article maps out the complex dialectical interrelation between political and humanitarian support and argues that political implications can only be understood through longer-term research, emphasizing processes of transformation that have resulted from these moments of disruption. Therefore, the article revisits Maximilian Park two and four years after the camp and reveals how the humanitarian approach chosen in the camp sustainably transformed the park, adding arrival infrastructures beyond the institutional, and had an impact on how refugees were dealt with and represented. Concluding, the article suggests the notion of ‘solidary humanitarianism’ that providing supplies, meeting acute existential needs and simultaneously articulating political claims that demand structural transformation: the right to shelter, basic supply, presence, and movement for all in the city.</p>

Polexit w świetle wyników badań opinii publicznej

Polexit in the Light of the Results of Public Opinion
 Polls In 2015, presidential and parliamentary elections took place in Poland and, as a result, the pro‑European parliamentary coalition of Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform) and Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish People’s Party) lost power after eight years of governing. The winning conservative coalition consisted of three parties: Law and Justice, Solidarity Poland and Jaroslaw Gowin’s Agreement party. From the very beginning, on various occasions (relocation of immigrants, reforms of the judiciary, rule of law) there have been disputes between the new authorities in Warsaw and the EU institutions (European Commission, European Parliament, Court of Justice of the European Union). The concept of polexit appeared in public discourse as one of the possible options for resolving these conflicts. The author of this article undertook the task of analyzing the results of research on the attitude of Polish society to Poland’s membership in the European Union in search of the answer to the question whether in the light of these results polexit is possible and whether it is not possible to repeat the British scenario that led to Brexit.

Is Cultural Policy in Poland in the Process of Recentralization?

One of the key mottos of system transformation in Poland after the fall of communism in 1989 was far-reaching decentralization. These transformation processes encompassed also the sector of culture. Now, this strong trend towards decentralization has been mitigated or even reversed. This paper will review many of the concerns which have been articulated in relation to the centralization/decentralization conundrum. The main aim of this paper is to test the assumption that cultural policy in Poland faces recentralization, by means of political, fiscal and administrative indicators to track the dynamics of its recent shifts. To look at this tendency I conducted a comparative analysis of the cultural policy instruments in two periods: the coalition of The Civic Platform and Polish People’s Party 2007- 2015, and Law and Justice Party 2015-2017. The study contributes to knowledge of political, fiscal and administrative settings of cultural policy recentralization in Poland.

Poland’s policy towards membership in the Economic and Monetary Union

Poland’s accession to the European Union determines future membership in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The subject of the research is the analysis of Polish policy towards EMU membership during the first 15 years of Poland’s membership in the EU. The research is political nature and intentionally does not focus on the economic benefits and challenges associated with Poland’s membership in the EMU.
 The aim of research is to focus on changes taking place in the policy towards Poland’s membership in the EMU conducted by the ruling parties, successively by the coalition of the Civic Platform (PO) and the Polish People’s Party (PSL) – PO-PSL in years 2007–2015 and then by the Law and Justice (PiS) in years 2005–2007 in consultation with the Self-Defence (Samoobrona RP) and the League of Polish Families (LPR) as well as 2015–2019 in the coalition with the Jarosław Gowin’s Agreement (Porozumienie Jarosława Gowina) and Zbigniew Ziobro’s Solidary Poland (Solidarna Polska).
 The main research questions relate to how has Poland’s membership in the EMU been perceived by the ruling parties since 2004 and what are the reasons for the fact that joining the eurozone by Poland until recently had been the strategic goal of the ruling elite of the country, and nowadays the strategic goal has become non-entry into the EMU.
 The main research methods were the analysis of the content of documents and a comparative method. The first method allowed presenting the perspective of Poland’s entry into the euro area from the side of the ruling parties policy. That is why the text was mainly based on source materials, i.e. reports, government documents, political speeches, party election programs and press articles. The second research method allowed to compare the concept of Poland’s membership in the EMU presented in various programs of the ruling political parties.
 The result of the conducted research indicates the radicalisation of the views of the Polish political scene. It also proves that date of adoption of the single European currency depends not only on meeting the convergence criteria, but also on which political option will rule in Poland.

A Primer on the Government and Politics of Poland

The research is supported by the Institute for International Business, Seton Hall University Abstract Poland engaged in a “self-limiting” revolution in 1989 in which it began a process of changing both its economic and its political systems. In this context, governmental and party politics came to the forefront in efforts to effect real change in society as the “closed” communist system came to an abrupt end. This paper is a study of governmental structures and party politics in Poland as they relate to these changes. It discusses the Polish legislative, presidential (executive), and judicial systems and the current political configurations operating within Poland. The author offers commentary on what the future may hold for politics in a nation still struggling to define its role in the European Union in light of its most recent past. Keywords: Government; Sejm; Politics; Law and Justice; Civic Platform DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-5-01 Publication date: February 29 th 2020

Выборы в региональные парламенты России на примере Государственного Собрания (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия)

The article analyzes the tendencies of elections to the regional parliaments of Russia on the example of the State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Local parliaments are called upon to fulfill the function of separating the legislative and executive branches of government. However, in the modern Russian political system, the institution of parliamentarism is poorly developed at the federal and local levels. Regional parliaments have little influence on decisions on financial aspects, often continuing the all-Russian legislative process. The electoral process associated with elections to local legislative assemblies developed based on the logic of the development of the federal electoral system and the development of federal relations. In the 1990s during the period of decentralized federalism, various types of regional regimes with developed party systems took shape. In the 2000s during the period of centralization, the powers of the regions were reduced, which led to the abolition of direct elections of heads of subjects, and the reform of party and electoral systems. By now, a mixed electoral system has been formed according to party lists and the majority system. The party composition of regional parliaments also does not differ from the federal list of Duma factions. The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is a national republic, which influences the formation of the local regional elite. There are noticeable tendencies in the interdependence of representatives of the elite of the executive and legislative branches of government, as well as signs of community, family ties. According to the party lists of the party of power “United Russia”, the Head of the Republic and representatives of the upper echelons of the republican government are usually represented. In the elections of 2013 and 2018 four parties, representatives of the small parties “Civic Platform” and “For Women of Russia”, are steadily receiving deputy mandates to the local parliament

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

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.