Parliamentary Elections 2011 - the results which will harm Poland?

The parliamentary elections took place on 9th of October 2011 in Poland and resulted with the re-election of the leading political party, the Civic Platform (PO), which received 39% of votes. Thus, Civic Platform had defeated their main political rival, the Law and Justice (PiS), which obtained 29% of citizen’s vote. The interesting phenomenon on the Polish political scene was that the two main parties and the two biggest rivals are both on the right-wing. This provoked the unusual polarization of the Polish political scene which is nowadays divided between a liberal right party (PO) and more a conservative one (PiS).

Regarding that the leading party did not obtain the majority of votes, it is once again forced to create a coalition with Polish Popular Movement (PSL), a centrist agrarian party which was supported by 8 % of voters during the parliamentary elections. As it is the second term of this coalition, it seems legitimate to make some evaluations and remarks on actions taken by the government during its previous four year term and to draw some conclusions.

Unsuccessful attempt to introduce the retirement reform

The first point of evaluation can be the retirement reform which the Civic Platform elaborated during the 2007 election campaign, namely the increase of pension for the retired. The reform introduced in 1999 by the previous parliament turned out to be too weak to withstand the wave of economic crisis in 2008, thus the former coalition faced serious difficulties not only in order to fulfil its electoral promises, but also to prevent the collapse of the pension system as a whole. Harsh measures like later retirement age and its adjustment of both men and women that was certainly not what citizens voted for.

The Friendly State - strong point of the PO election programme?

Another self-declared success of the ruling coalition PO-PSL also deserves to be looked upon critically. The state commission “Friendly State” (Przyjazne Panstwo) was aimed to simplify the country’s administration. As a result bureaucracy became even more incomprehensible for citizens and was occupied with issues that turned out not to be crucial regarding the economic needs of the society. As an example, the reform of GDP taxation can be cited: at first it was aimed it aimed at the reduction of 21% tax, finally ended up with its increase to 23%.

Strong economy without strong political contribution

Finally, a positive result of the Polish economy during the economic crisis in Europe is considered to be the main success of the previous government by the public opinion and citizens. Nevertheless, economists strongly support the idea that this aspect cannot be seen as government’s virtue, since the large field of economy is independent of governmental actions. Thus, the most common argument that proves an effectiveness of Polish leading party seems to be irrelevant.

The attitude of the Polish electors – a sign of a democratic weakness

As far as Polish citizens and their attitudes are concerned, their disinterest is apparent. Many electors are not willing to take any decision at all (which consists of the 51% of polish voters this year). It seems that a small group of Polish voters takes into consideration the political programmes of each party and does evaluate critically the political actions led by each of them during their cadencies. However, the image of the leader tends to overshadow the score of the party. Therefore, the elections become more and more a contest of personalities than a choice of the nation’s representatives.

The specificity of the Polish political scene: the reason of democratic disinterest?

The failures of the previous government as well as the lack of the self-conscious support of the leading party by the Polish citizens can legitimate the doubts expressed by many political scientists in Poland regarding the future four years of the State’s development. The conflicts between many political parties, similar in their objectives and ideologies, reveal the main weakness of Polish political scene: the lack of the clear position of representatives to choose and to follow. Nevertheless, the existing situation does not seem to provide conditions in which Poland could use its potential to the fullest, especially in the hour of its accelerated development.