Poland's ruling Law and Justice 'on course'

[pieter]

Poland's ruling Law and Justice 'on course': party chief

01.07.2017 12:47

Addressing a congress of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party in the central town of Przysucha on Saturday, party chief Jarosław Kaczyński told delegates the grouping was “on course”.


Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński. Photo: PAP/Piotr Polak

The conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power in general elections in late 2015 amid promises of sweeping change.

Education reforms, the establishment of a National Treasury Administration as well as new Territorial Defence forces were among the key accomplishments of the Law and Justice government listed by the party leader in a keynote speech.

“You could say we’re on course,” Kaczyński said, adding that “Poles' rights are pursued despite opposition.”

He referred to changes introduced by PiS to Poland's Constitutional Tribunal.

“There was much ado about nothing,” Kaczyński said about an outcry from the opposition and critics who feared that the changes would undermine Poland’s top court and threaten democratic principles in the country.

“The Tribunal continues to work properly and despite what some people say, it does not always act in our favour,” he said.

Critics have accused Law and Justice of aiming to stack the Constitutional Tribunal with PiS supporters, undermining its ability to challenge new laws.

PiS has argued it was unfair that a constitutional court with a majority of judges appointed by the previous parliament should be able to scupper flagship policies for which Law and Justice secured a mandate in democratic elections.

Kaczyński’s address at the congress on Saturday is to be followed by speeches by Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, alongside United Poland leader Zbigniew Ziobro and the head of the Poland Together grouping, Jarosław Gowin.

Some 1,100 delegates have convened for the Law and Justice Congress to look at what lies ahead for the party and to sum up the past year. The convention consists of two parts, the first comprising a Law and Justice gathering followed by a wider meeting of right-wing parties.

(aba/pk)

Source: PAP, IAR

[pieter]

Manifesto

Democracy in Poland is threatened. Actions of the government, its disregard for the law and democratic custom, force us to express determined opposition. We do not want Poland to be totalitarian, closed for the ones who think differently than the government orders. We do not want Poland to be full of frustration and desire for revenge. We want Poland to be the place for all Poles, equal before the law, regardless of their beliefs, views, ethics and aesthetics. We do not agree on the appropriation of the state, which divides Poles into better or worse, contempt for the "others". We also do not agree to any detrimental ideas which are targeting principles of democracy and human rights.

We are determined to talk openly and decisively, with full voice, about decency, law and mutual respect. We are determined to express our views not only at home or on the Internet but also on the streets of our cities and villages, and if there is a need gathering there to express our opinions and demands.

We welcome all for whom democratic values are important to cooperate, regardless of their political views and religion. We do not agree on violation of the Constitution and the introduction of authoritarian rule by abusing the mechanisms of democracy. We have among us people of different views and political orientations - from right to left - believers and non-believers. What unites us is that we are free and we would like to continue to live in our own democratic country where nobody would dictate us how to live or what principles to believe in.

[pieter]

[pieter]

Different political voices in Poland






Solidarna Polska, government partner of Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice)

Right-wing – National conservatism, Strong Euroscepticism, Social conservatism, Economic nationalism






Platforma Obywatelska , former government party and present opposition party

Centre (both social and economic), strong Pro-Europeanism





.Nowoczesna (Modern), Centre – Liberalism, Very strong Pro-Europeanism

[pieter]

Polish People's Party ( Centre-right – Agrarianism, Christian democracy, Economic nationalism, Social conservatism)





The Union of European Democrats (UED) (Centre – Social Liberalism, Very strong Pro-Europeanism )







Poland Together ( Centre-right – Conservatism, Economic liberalism )

[pieter]

Opposition parties with few votes




Kongres Nowej Prawicy (Congress of the New Right), Libertarian conservatism, Social conservatism and Euroscepticism





Prawica Rzeczypospolitej (Right Wing of the Republic), Right-wing – Social conservatism, National conservatism, Euroscepticism, Economic liberalism





Ruch Narodowy ( National Movement ), Polish nationalism, Christian nationalism, National conservatism, Anti-communism, Anti-globalization, Euroscepticism



Unia Polityki Realnej ( Real Politics Union ), Libertarian conservatism, Classical liberalism, Libertarianism, Monarchism and Euroscepticism

[pieter]

Opposition parties outside parliament, Sejm

[pieter]

Together Party; Social democracy, Democratic socialism, Progressivism, Alter-globalization and Eco-feminism





Partia Razem ( Together Party) is a left-wing political party in Poland formed in May 2015. It was one of the eight nationwide committees standing in the 2015 parliamentary election. The party is so young that it hadn't got a strong enough grassrootsmovement and history to gain much votes, but it could grow and be a significant power on the left if it gains votes from SLD (Democratic Left Alliance), Unia Pracy, Partia Zieloni (the Green Party), and Zjednoczona Lewica (the United Left), the Polska Partia Socjalistyczna (Polish Socialist Party) and the Trotskyist Polska Partia Pracy and maybe some center left voters of the large center parties?

Razem registered lists for the 2015 parliamentary election in all electoral districts and received 3.6% of the vote in the election, below the 5% threshold to gain seats in parliament.

In 2016 Razem instigated mass protests (called the Black Protest) against a bill that would impose a complete ban on abortion, proposed by a citizens' initiative.

Razem was founded as a response to the unsuccessful attempt to create a left-wing political platform in Poland during the 2015 presidential election. Another reason was dissatisfaction with the role of the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) as the main centre-left party. Many founders were previously activists in the Young Socialists, The Greens (Partia Zieloni) or local initiatives, including Kraków Against Games.

Ideology


Razem activists protesting the Polish Constitutional Court crisis

The party advocates labor rights and opposes deregulation and privatisation of public services. Among its main goals are strengthening redistribution, adopting a 35-hour workweek, raising the income tax threshold to the equivalent of 12 times the minimum wage (ca. $3,200 as of 2016), establishing progressive corporate tax, and creating a healthcare programme funded directly from the state budget. It also wishes to completely remove special economic zones from Poland. The party's economic program is partially inspired by the Scandinavian Nordic model. The party considers itself part of the anti-austerity movement.

Razem is progressive on social issues, supporting drug liberalization, sex education in schools and LGBT rights. The party is known for staunch criticism of nationalism and supports European integration It also strictly follows gender quotas and is for liberalizing Poland's abortion law.

The party opposes TTIP and CETA, as they believe they will “lead to the undermining of financial stability and rapid growth of debt”.

British economist Guy Standing describes Razem as "the first authentic movement in Poland representing the precariat".

Since 2016, Razem has also been cooperating with the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) pan-European movement, founded by Yanis Varoufakis. In May 2017, Varoufakis has expressed DiEM25's support for Razem in the 2019 European Parliament election.




Yanis Varoufakis, Greek economist, academic and politician, who served as the Greek Minister of Finance from January to July 2015, when he resigned


Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk of the Razem National Board during the 2016 protests against a total ban on abortion


Razem has a German branch in Berlin which like a sort of Polish Union takes care of the rights of Polish workers in Germany. partiarazem.pl/deutsch/

[pieter]

Composition of political parties in the Polish parliament:





Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) has a huge representation with 37.58 percent of the votes, which is 235 seats of the total of 460 seats in the Sejm (the lower house of the Polish parliament).

Prawo i Sprawiedliwość took over the role of Platforma Obywatelska and governs with the smalle rightwing parties Poland Together (Polish: Polska Razem) and United Poland (Polish: Solidarna Polska, abbreviated to SP, alternatively translated as "Solidarity Poland" or "Solidary Poland").
Prawo i Sprawiedliwość delivers the Prime Minister Beata Szydło, and 17 ministers to the Cabinet of Beata Szydło, and Polska Razem (Poland Together) and Solidarna Polska (United Poland) each deliver 2 ministers, so 4 ministers to the cabinet. Next to that the Cabinet of Beata Szydło has two ministers without a party, Anna Streżyńska, Minister of Digital Affairs and Witold Bańka, the Minister of Sport and Tourism.





Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO) has 24.09 percent of the votes, which is 138 seat in the Sejm. The former government party lost 69 seats. In 2011 it gained 5,629,773 votes and 207 seats, that dropped to 3,661,474 votes in 2015 presidential elections, dropping to 138 seats in parliament.





The right-wing political movement Kukiz'15 ( ruchkukiza.pl/ ) led by punk rock musician Paweł Kukiz is the third party in the Polish parliament with 1,339,094 votes, which is 8.81 percent of the votes and that gives the party 42 seats in the Sejm. Kukiz'15 is a Right-wing populist political party with an ideology of Civic nationalism, Fiscal conservatism, an Anti-establishment attitude and Euroscepticism.

The key postulates of Kukiz'15 are:

- Eliminating the monopoly of political parties in parliament ("destroying particracy").
- Electoral reform from a proportional representation to first past the post.
- Separation of government, courts and parliament,
- Protection of civic liberties.






Modern (Nowoczesna, founded in May 2015 by the economist Ryszard Petru and led by Petru is the fourth party in the Polish parliament with 1,155,370 votes, which is 7.60 percent of the votes and that gives the party 28 seats in the Sejm.



At the 2015 parliamentary election the Polish People's Party (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) dropped to 5.13 percent of the vote, just barely over the 5 percent threshold. With 16 seats, it is the smallest of the five factions in the Sejm. Only 779,875 people voted for PSL. In 2007 1,437,638 people voted for PSL giving the party 31 seats of the 460 seats in the parliament. In 2011 still 1,201,628 people voted for PSL, 8.4 percent giving the Christian-Democratic and agrarian party still 28 seats in the Sejm. The drop to 5.1 percent in 2015 and 16 seats is dramatic. That the PSL has moved towards more centrist and conservative policies in the last 15 years didn't help the party much.

Ideology



The Centre to Centre-right Christian democratic PSL is strongly based on agrarianism. The party advocates economic protectionism by the state (especially in agriculture), and "slower privatization" (although it is not against privatization). On social and ethical issues, PSL opposes abortion, same-sex marriage/civil unions, soft drug decriminalization, euthanasia and death penalty. It also supports mandatory public (state) education and publicly funded health care. The party has increasingly shifted its focus towards environmental protection and decentralisation of governmental authority. The PSL also favors Green conservatism
and Decentralisation.









The German minority, Mniejszość Niemiecka, MN, with 27,530 votes is represented with one seat in the Sejm.

[pieter]