A COALITION of two right-wing parties has won Poland’s first general
election since the country joined the European Union (EU) in May 2004.
They ousted the discredited ex-Stalinist SLD government.
The following article by PAUL NEWBERY (a member of GPR – CWI in
Poland), written on the eve of last Sunday’s election, explains the main
political developments in the country.
TWO RIGHT-WING parties, Civic Platform (PO), and Law and Justice (PiS),
are set to win the Polish parliamentary elections on 25 September.
Meanwhile, the ruling party, the post-Stalinist, Democratic Left
Alliance (SLD), is struggling to avoid repeating the meltdown which
Solidarity Election Action (AWS) experienced in the last general
election.
Four years ago, after a series of disastrous reforms of the health
service and the pension system, and following embroilment in corruption
scandals, the coalition government parties, AWS and Freedom Union (UW),
failed even to win a single seat in parliament.
However, even in comparison with AWS, SLD’s collapse in support is
stunning. The party came to power with almost 40% of the vote on a wave
of enormous anger and hatred for the outgoing government and
expectations that a new SLD government would improve the lot of working
people.
The new government failed miserably, presiding over record levels of
unemployment and was rocked by even more spectacular sleaze allegations
than those which previously hit the AWS. Last year, the SLD experienced
two damaging splits.
With the demise of the SLD, there has been a huge growth in support
for PO and PiS. In addition, the reactionary League of Polish Families (LPR)
currently stands at between 10% and 14%.
However, the new government will not be free from tension. PO is the
main neo-liberal party. It wants to privatise the remaining state
enterprises, sell off the shares that the state still holds in
privatised enterprises, and to introduce a flat rate income tax, which
will give an unprecedented tax cut for the rich, whilst at the same time
cutting benefits and pensions, and raising the retirement age.
PiS, on the other hand, is a right-wing populist party focusing on
the issue of law and order and opposing some of the excesses of
neo-liberalism, such as the flat-rate tax. PiS also campaigns on the
issue of corruption. Lech Kaczynski, leader of PiS and Mayor of Warsaw,
is aiming to win the presidential election on 9 October.
When he took over in Warsaw he conducted a purge of the Warsaw City
administration, replacing board members of the municipal companies with
his trusted political allies, who in turn, have abused their positions
of power. Whilst popular in the country, Kaczynski is hated by a large
portion of Warsaw’s inhabitants.
Reactionary
‘Normality Parade’
EARLIER THIS year, he banned the gay-pride ‘Equality Parade’,
whipping up hatred towards gays and lesbians. This encouraged the
neo-fascist All-Poland Youth, LPR’s unofficial youth section, to
organise a ‘Normality Parade’, a week later, with the blessing of
Kaczynski.
The level of support for the right-wing does not represent a
significant shift to the right in Polish society. Rather, it is a result
of enormous confusion in consciousness, the bankruptcy of SLD in the
eyes of the masses, and the lack of a clear socialist alternative. Given
this vacuum, both PiS and LPR have been able to pick up considerable
support for their populist ideology. However, as the volatility of
opinion polls show, this support is not stable.
The most politically aware sections of the working class have no
illusions in what to expect from a future PO-PiS government. In July,
this year, 10,000 miners battled with police on the streets of Warsaw in
protest against plans to abolish their right to early retirement. There
was enormous bitterness towards the SLD government, frustration with
their own union leaders, and also hatred towards the right-wing parties.
The call for a new workers’ party received a favourable response and
many miners talked about the need to take to the streets to crush the
All-Poland Youth and LPR in the future.
After an initial period of wait-and-see, once the government goes
onto the offensive against the working class, it will be met with bitter
opposition from organised labour. However, at the same time, it must be
recognised that reactionary right-wing forces, such as All-Poland Youth,
will be strengthened and given more confidence as a result of the
right’s victory.
Workers’ leader
election candidate
ENORMOUS POTENTIAL exists for left-wing and socialist candidates,
standing on a clear working class programme. Group for a Workers’ Party
(GPR), the Polish section of the CWI, is organising the election
campaign of a tram drivers’ leader in Radom, an industrial town where
official unemployment stands at 27%.
Grzegorz Kupis is a candidate on the Polish Labour Party (PPP)
electoral list and is campaigning with the main slogan "A workers’
MP on a workers’ wage" and "Always on the side of working
people".
He pledged he will fight against privatisation, mass redundancies,
and the introduction of the market to the health service. He demands
free universal health care funded by the state and the nationalisation
of all companies threatening to make workers redundant.
Last year, Kupis proved his credentials as an uncompromising leader
of Warsaw workers during the pay dispute with the city authorities,
whilst all the other unions played a disgraceful strikebreaking role.
The small forces of GPR caused a stir by putting up 2,000 fly-posters
all over Radom, and the outlying area, and distributing over 1,500
leaflets. The next day PPP and GPR hit the headlines of the local
newspaper due to complaints from PiS and LPR that we had covered up
their posters. The headline read, "War of posters. Aggressive
election campaign in Radom."
In response, GPR issued the following press release: "Many
owners of private advertising boards and other surfaces have threatened
us with court cases. On the other hand, many people have phoned Kupis
with messages of support."
"There wouldn’t have been such a commotion if the advertising
boards were in public ownership and not privately owned. Unfortunately,
everything in our country (apart from the air) has been privatised and
we have to pay for everything. This means that only the bourgeoisie can
conduct a legal election campaign."
Unfortunately, the PPP campaign has been almost non-existent in other
Polish cities and the party is running at only 1% in opinion polls. PPP
appears to have very weak or inactive structures and its reformist
programme, whilst containing many good demands, does not provide a clear
socialist alternative to capitalism. Whilst campaigning for the PPP
candidate in Radom, GPR continues to argue for the need for a genuine
workers’ party with a socialist programme.
Election results
Law and Justice (PiS): 27% (152 seats in lower house)
Civic Platform (PO): 24% (133 seats)
Self-Defence (right-wing, agrarian, nationalist party): 12% (57
seats)
Democratic Left Alliance (SLD): 11% (56 seats)
League of Polish families (LPR): 8% (33 seats)
Peasants’ Party (PSL): 7% (27 seats)
Results for parties with more than 5% share of the vote, from 90% of
votes counted.
