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The Polish centre-right's (last?) best hope: the rise and fall of Solidarity Electoral Action

2004; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 20; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1352327042000260805

1743-9116

Aleks Szczerbiak,

Polish Historical and Cultural Studies

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes On communist Poland see, for example, G. Kolankiewicz and P.G. Lewis, Poland: Politics, Economics and Society (London and New York: Pinter, 1988). See H. Kitschelt, Post-Communist Party Systems: Competition, Representation and Inter-party Collaboration (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), p.40. See J. Linz and A. Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America and Post-Communist Europe (Baltimore, MD and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), p.255. See B. Szajkowski, Next to God…Poland (London: Pinter, 1993). On Solidarity see, for example, T. Garton Ash, The Polish Revolution (London: Cape, 1983); D. Ost. Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics: Opposition and Reform in Poland Since 1968 (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1990); G. Sanford, Polish Communism in Crisis (London: Croom Helm, 1993); J. Staniszkis, Poland's Self-Limiting Revolution (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983); A. Touraine, F. Dubet, M. Wieviorka and J. Strzelecki, Solidarity: The Analysis of a Social Movement: Poland, 1980–1981 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983). 99 out of the 100 seats in the newly created senate and all of the 161 contested seats (there were 460 in total) in the more powerful Sejm: see P.G. Lewis, 'Non-competitive Elections and Regime Change: Poland 1989', Parliamentary Affairs, Vol.43, No.1 (1990), pp.90–107. On the Polish transition to democracy see W. Connor and P. Płozajski (eds.), Escape from Socialism: The Polish Route (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1992); G. Sanford (ed.), Democratization in Poland, 1988–90: Polish Voices (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992). For the best account of party development in Poland during the first phase of post-communist politics see F. Millard, 'The Shaping of the Polish Party System, 1989–93', East European Politics and Societies, Vol.8, No.3 (1994), pp.467–94. See T. Grabowski, 'The Party That Never Was: The Rise and Fall of the Solidarity Citizens' Committees in Poland', East European Politics and Societies, Vol.10, No.2 (1996), pp.214–55. In 1991 the Centre Agreement went on to transform itself into a single, unitary party. This is an over-simplification. As noted above, Wałęsa's camp at this time included liberals such as the Liberal Democratic Congress, while Mazowiecki's supporters also numbered more conservative politicians such as those clustered around the Forum of the Democratic Right grouping (Forum Prawicy Demokratycznej, FPD). One of the leaders of the Citizens' Movement--Democratic Action, Władysław Frasyniuk, referred to their politics as 'to the west of centre'; see L. Vinton, 'Solidarity's Rival Offspring: Center Alliance and Democratic Action', RFE/RL Report on Eastern Europe, 21 Sept. (1990), p.22. On the 1991 election see F. Millard, 'The Polish Parliamentary Elections of October 1991', Soviet Studies, Vol.44, No.5 (1992), pp.837–55. There was also a very short-lived government in May 1992, led by Waldemar Pawlak, the leader of the ex-communist satellite Polish Peasant Party. On the 1993 election see F. Millard, 'The Polish Parliamentary Election of September, 1993, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol.27, No.3 (1994), pp.295–313. See A. Szczerbiak, 'Interests and Values: Polish Parties and their Electorates', Europe–Asia Studies, Vol.51, No.8 (1999), pp.1401–32; T. Szawiel, 'Zróznicowania lewicowo prawicowe i jego korelaty', in R. Markowski (ed.), Wybory Parlamentarne 1997: System partyjny, postawy polityczne, zachowanie wyborce (Warsaw: ISP PAN, 1999); K. Jasiewicz, 'Portfel czy rózaniec? Ekonomiczne i aksjologiczne determinanty zachowań wyborczych', in Markowski, pp.149–68. See A. Szczerbiak, Poles Together? The Emergence and Development of Political Parties in Post-Communist Poland (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2001). For an attempt to account for this using a historical-cultural framework that focuses on the role of Polish intellectuals see T. Szawiel, 'Prawica a kultura. Dlaczego prawica w Polsce po 1989 r. jest słaba i skłócona?', in M. Grabowska and S. Mocka, Pierwsza sześciolatka 1989–1995: Próba bilansu polityki (Warsaw: ISP PAN, 1997), pp.129–49. Unfortunately, the relatively weak position of Polish conservative elites that Szawiel identifies is equally applicable to other post-communist states where more successful and cohesive centre-right formations have emerged. See S. Saxonberg, 'The Influence of Presidential Systems: Why the Right Is So Weak in Conservative Poland and So Strong in the Egalitarian Czech Republic', Problems of Post-Communism, Vol.50, No.5 (2003), pp.22–36. For a similar macro-institutional approach that focuses on the role of the presidency see K. Jasiewicz. 'Wybory prezydenckie 1995 roku a kształtowanie się polskiego systemu partyjnego, Studia Polityczne, 1996, No.5, pp.7–16. For a good account of the activities of the Polish right during this period see A. Domoswałski, 'W Okopach Św. Katarzyny', Gazeta Wyborcza, 10 Sept. 1997. See A. Sabbat-Swidlicka, 'Local Elections Redress Political Balance in Poland', RFE/RL Research Report, Vol.3, No.27 (1994), pp.1–8. See F. Millard, 'The 1995 Presidential Election', Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol.12, No.1 (1996), pp.101–9. For an early analysis of Solidarity Electoral Action, see A. Szczerbiak, 'Harmonising the Discordant Right', Transition, Vol.3, No.6 (1997), pp.44–7. See Czas na Akcję: Marian Krzaklewski w rozmowie z Maciejem Lętowskim i Piotrem Zarembą (Warsaw: Tysol, 1997), p.220. See A. Szczerbiak, 'Electoral Politics in Poland: The Parliamentary Elections of 1997', Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol.14, No.3 (1998), pp.58–83. See M. Wenzel, 'Solidarity and Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność: An Attempt at Reviving the Legend', Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol.31, No.2 (1998), pp.139–56. See, for example, 'Jedność, rodzina i wolne soboty', Rzeczpospolita, 30 June 1997. See, for example, '21 zadań dla Polski', Rzeczpospolita, 1 Sept. 1997; 'Wielke Obietnice', Gazeta Wyborcza, 1 Sept. 1997; M. Krzaklewski, '21 punktów w XXI wiek', Gazeta Wyborcza, 10 Sept. 1997. Formed by the merger of a number of small liberal–conservative parties and right-wing defectors from the Freedom Union in January 1997. See K. Grabowski, 'Dyktator', Wprost, 27 October 1996. See A. Szczerbiak, 'The Impact of the 1998 Local Elections on the Emerging Polish Party System', Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol.15, No.3 (1999), pp.80–100. See A. Szczerbiak, 'Explaining Kwaśniewski's Landslide: The October 2000 Polish Presidential Election', Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol.17, No.4 (2001), pp.78–107. See M. Subotić and A. Stankiewicz, 'Drugi po prezydencie', Rzeczpospolita. 5 July 2001. The Movement for Poland's Reconstruction was formed by Olszewski's supporters following his relatively good result in the 1995 presidential election; the party won 5.56 per cent of the vote in 1997 but obtained only six deputies; it was severely weakened by subsequent splits and remained in opposition throughout the 1997–2001 parliament. The Centre Agreement had formally merged with a small Christian Democratic grouping in September 1999 to form the Polish Agreement of Christian Democrats (Polskie Porozumienie Chrześcijańskich Demokratów, PPChD) but Jarosław Kaczyński and his most loyal supporters refused to recognize this and continued to operate a separate independent party. The Polish Agreement was formed in March 2001 by the Conservative People's Party minority that refused to accept the decision to support the Civic Platform and a faction within the Christian National Union that had been narrowly defeated at the party's May 2000 Congress; they were joined by a number of other well-known right-wing politicians, particularly from the radical anti-communist youth organization, the Republican League (Liga Republikańska, LR). See M.D. Zdort, 'Świadectwo eurosceptyków', Rzeczpospolita, 25 Sept. 2001; W. Załuska, 'To jest partia ojca Rydzyka', Gazeta Wyborcza, 25 Sept. 2001. See A. Szczerbiak, 'Poland's Unexpected Political Earthquake: The September 2001 Parliamentary Election', Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol.18, No.3 (2002), pp.483–5. See 'Coraz krytycznej o reformach', Rzeczpospolita. 31 July 2001. See J. Paradowska, 'Wszyscy do szalup', Polityka, 7 July 2001. See M.D. Zdort, 'AWS trudno do zintegrowania', Rzeczpospolita, 3 June 1997. See M. Łętowski, 'Prawicy grzechy główne', Rzeczpospolita, 2 Oct. 2001. For a good analysis see T. Żukowski, 'Zabrakło czasu i woli', Rzeczpospolita, 27 April 2001. See R. Ziemkewicz, 'Samozagłada', Rzeczpospolita, 8 May 2001; B. Wildstein. 'Koalicja konfliktów', Rzeczpospolita, 21 June 2001. See, for example, M.D. Zdort, 'Premia za nazwę AWS', Rzeczpospolita, 3 Feb. 2000. See J. Pilczyński. 'Wielke tasowanie', Rzeczpospolita, 21 Sept. 2001. By changing the counting system to the modified Sainte Lague, increasing district magnitude and abolishing the national top-up list for larger parties winning more than seven per cent of the vote: see F. Millard, 'Elections in Poland 2001: Electoral Manipulation and Party Upheaval', Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol.36, No.1 (2003), pp.69–86. For more on this see M.D. Zdort, 'Prawica nie potrafiła pokazać wyborcom, dlaczego rządzi', Rzeczpospolita, 3 Jan. 2001; A. Hall. 'Niewykorzystana szansa', Rzeczpospolita, 8 Jan. 2001; B. Wildstein, 'Koalicja konfliktów', Rzeczpospolita, 21 June 2001; J. Paradowska, 'Wzysczy do szalup', Polityka, 7 July 2001. See 'Nie ma partii czystych rąk', Rzeczpospolita, 16 July 2001. I am grateful to Paul Lewis for drawing my attention to this argument. I am grateful to Seán Hanley for drawing my attention to this argument. See Saxonberg, 'The Influence of Presidential Systems', p.30. See A. Szczerbiak. 'Old and New Divisions in Polish Politics: Polish Parties' Electoral Strategies and Bases of Support', Europe–Asia Studies, Vol.55, No.5 (2003), pp.729–46.