An anti-government candle-lit vigil in front of Krakow's District Court in relation to judical reforms in Poland. Image: Artur Widak/SIPA USA/PA ImagesThe recent local government elections in Poland have further strengthened the polarisation of the country’s political scene between two parties from the right: the Law and Justice Party (PiS) and Citizens’ Platform (PO). While the latter made important gains in some major cities, PiS still managed to consolidate itself as the country’s leading political party. With the left remaining marginalised on the sidelines of Polish politics, the domination of these two right-wing parties seems set to continue.
Depending on who you listen to, Polish democracy is either dying or flourishing. The standard critique, repeated in the mainstream western media, is that since winning the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2015, PiS is attacking such institutions as the courts and public media; and leading Poland into Europe’s growing club of illiberal democracies. The PiS government is regarded as a threat to the values upon which the European Union (EU) has been constructed; as well rolling back many of the democratic gains of Poland’s transition from a Soviet-backed socialist state. PiS, of course, reject such claims. They point not just to their electoral victories but also to their continual high standing in the opinion-polls. They refer to the deep conviction in Polish society that institutions such as the courts are corrupt and that their reforms are required in order to create a more transparent and efficient legal system. PiS argue that they are implementing a popular programme of social reform, against the wishes of a corrupt elite.
PiS have combined their encroachments on liberal democracy, with the promotion of nationalist and socially conservative policies, creating a political environment in which the far-right is emboldened. The party and government is structured around its leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, who has avoided the formal responsibilities of government while conducting proceedings from the sidelines. The left has to heed these warning signs and oppose the present moves towards authoritarianism and conservative nationalism. At the same time, however, it must offer an alternative to the liberal opposition, which seeks a return to the very economic and social order that spurred this right-wing conservative turn.
