Social Europe: What Prospects For The Polish Left?

The success of ‘Together’ and other anti-establishment groupings in the 2015 election reflected widespread disillusionment with the country’s ruling elites and a strong prevailing mood that it was time for a change. The party also gained kudos among many younger, left-leaning Poles for its dynamism, ‘newness’ and programmatic clarity. However, ‘Together’ has failed to build on this promise and achieve political lift-off. It was wary about joining anti-government street protests on constitutional and ‘rule of law’ issues organised by the liberal-centrist opposition parties and Committee for the Defence of Democracy (KOD) civic movement. But it has proved very difficult for the party to cut through with its distinctive left-wing socio-economic message at a time when the Polish political scene is so sharply polarised around attitudes towards the Law and Justice administration. In April, the ‘Pooling the Poles’ blog that aggregates voting intention surveys showed support for ‘Together’ averaging at 1%.

The party’s biggest problem is that it represents a rather niche political offering attractive mainly to well-educated urban ‘hipsters’. Unfortunately for ‘Together’ the kind of younger, better-off socially liberal voters who in Western Europe would incline naturally towards left-wing parties, are in Poland often quite economically liberal as well and wary of some of the party’s more radical economic policies, such as very high tax rates for top earners. The less well-off, economically leftist electorate, on the other hand, tends to be older, more socially conservative and often inclines towards parties such as Law and Justice that are right-wing on moral-cultural issues but also support high levels of social welfare and greater state intervention in the economy. [...]

However, his critics argue that Mr Biedroń is a ‘political celebrity’ who has built his reputation primarily as a popular local government leader and campaigner focusing on moral-cultural issues – he was the founder of the Polish Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH) in the early 2000s – but has not yet been seriously tested on the national political stage. It remains to be seen whether his Mr Biedroń’s personal popularity can translate into a more high-profile role and if he is really prepared to undertake the difficult and painstaking task of building a new political movement from the bottom-up.

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Political Critique: Tens of thousands in nationalist march in Warsaw

In the last years, 11 November has become the biggest annual event for nationalists and supporters of the extreme right in Poland. According to estimates, around 60 000 people marched with torches and smoke bombs, shouting nationalist, anti-refugee, anti-European, and anti-Semitic slogans through the streets of Warsaw. Although the ruling Law and Justice party did not officialy take part, President Duda sent a letter to the demonstrating nationalists in which he praised patriotic values. An alternative march was organized also by the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD), an umbrella organization bringing together the liberal opposition, which declared a pro-European orientation and criticised the government. Later in the afternoon, over 1000 people gathered at an anti-fascist demonstration, organised by anarchist organizations and the Razem party, in order to protest against nationalism, racism, and xenophobia and in support of openness and solidarity.

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Politico: Poles to the right of Jarosław Kaczyński

PiS has turned a blind eye to the activities of the likes of the All-Polish Youth and the National Radical Camp (ONR) — which were banned for decades before the fall of communism in 1989 — to the dismay of mainstream parties like the centrist opposition Civic Platform, which this week asked Poland’s prosecutor general to outlaw the ONR for propagating fascism. [...]

Green ONR flags rippled in the background as PiS-affiliated President Andrzej Duda made his way to a Gdańsk church for the reburial mass. Nationalists booed and harassed a handful of activists from the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD), a centrist grouping that has staged anti-government street protests in recent months.

Lech Wałęsa, the historic leader of the Solidarity labor union and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was greeted with cries of “traitor” and “death to the country’s enemies.” [...]

In response, Elżbieta Witek, chief of staff to Prime Minister Beata Szydło, told reporters, “Above all, I value those who are patriots.”

In last October’s parliamentary election, PiS had the support of a quarter of voters aged 18-29, much better than its past performance with that age bracket. Not all of those voters were nationalists or right-wingers, but those groupings have become part of PiS’s support base. [...]

In practical terms, too, the PiS government has made it easier for the ultra-nationalists to operate. In a review of police training materials conducted by the interior ministry in June, the ONR’s symbol — a hand gripping a sword — was removed from a guide to hate crimes.

When the ONR announced its intention to patrol the streets of the city of Łódź to “protect the Polish people against migrants,” regional governor Zbigniew Rau from the PiS defended them, saying, “If young people want to do something for the common good and they are concerned that [public] safety could be in danger, then it is the kind of capital on which we can build.”

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The Huffington Post: In Poland, U.S. Should Emphasize Link Between Rule of Law, Civil Society, Security

Polish civil society, including KOD, have also expressed concern over another new law that consolidates the government’s power over the media, a draft law that would allow police to shut down public protest at any time, and the apparent rise in hate crime since the new government took power. One KOD supporter noted that the government’s actions put Poland at risk for “Russian influences,” meaning bigotry and xenophobia. Said Morton, “We want to create... a sense of community, a way of being Polish that isn’t based on hate.” [...]

Timmermans and the European Union should hold steady in their support for civil society and the rule of law. The E.U. should keep up pressure on Poland to reform policies that threaten these foundations, such as the law hampering the Constitutional Tribunal, the proposed law that would allow law enforcement to prohibit peaceful protest at any time, and a draft anti-terrorism law that would make all foreigners potential targets of surveillance and suspicion. These measures threaten the very stability and security that Poland seeks to develop through its partnerships with the European Union and the United States.

The United States should support the E.U. in its fight to maintain rule of law and human rights standards. President Obama this week announced his intent to attend the NATO Summit in Warsaw on July 8-9 and to meet with government officials there. He should consider conditioning any face-to-face meetings with Polish officials on whether the government has made progress on its rule of law promises. American officials in Warsaw should also point out to their Polish allies the risks that recent legislative proposals present to the very thing Poland seeks to shore up at the NATO Summit: its own security.

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Deutsche Welle: Kijowski: "Poland needs a strong civil society"

When Walesa moved into the spotlight as head of the Solidarity labor union, he had no idea that he would decisively accelerate his country's path to democracy. He moved the masses then, as Kijowski is doing now. Still there is one major difference. Back then, the movement sought to topple a totalitarian regime, today protests are directed at the policies of a democratically elected government. Kijowski is the first to emphasize that fact. [...]

What the two have in common, however, is a special talent - some even say charisma - that helps them mobilize the masses. When Kijowski founded the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD) he consciously drew upon a legendary Communist era organization: the Workers' Defense Committee (KOR), which fought against the old regime in the 1970s. The KOR, Walesa's Solidarity and today's KOD are all movements that have captivated residents in Poland's big cities.

The most recent mass demonstrations began in the winter of 2015, when temperatures hovered around -15˚C (5˚F), and they have grown larger each week. It remains to be seen whether the movement can force the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government to change its current course. As does the question of whether Kijowski will become "today's Lech Walesa." He shrugs off questions about his political ambitions or people's attempts to focus too much on him personally. He constantly repeats, "We do not want to topple the legally elected government, we just want to stop the dismantling of Polish democracy."

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AP: Ex-Polish presidents lead anti-government march in Warsaw

Poland's two former presidents led tens of thousands of marchers Saturday in Warsaw to protest the right-wing government's policies and mark 27 years since the ouster of communism.

The march was yet another in a series organized by a new civic movement, the Committee for the Defense of Democracy, or KOD, against the conservative government that took office in November. The government's policies have strained Poland's relations with the European Union and the U.S. and angered many in Poland. But the ruling party insists it has a mandate from Poland's voters. [...]

Warsaw authorities said 50,000 people took part. Smaller marches also took place in other Polish cities and in Berlin and Brussels, the E.U. headquarters.

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Global Voices Interviews Activists From Defense of Democracy Committee Who Say Poland Is in Peril

Jarek Marciniak divides Polish people in three categories: those who have no idea how a democratic state works (80 percent), those who have a general but unspecific idea (15 percent), and those who are experts (5 percent). He is a board member and one of the founders of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD), a civic movement initiated in opposition to the actions of Poland's current conservative government led by the Law and Justice party (PIS). [...]

On the one hand, KOD organises massive demonstrations (between 45,000 and 240,000 people attended the last one, depending on who you ask), and the group counts many prominent names among its patrons and supporters. On the other hand, KOD has been accused over-representing wealthy, middle-class Poles afraid of losing their privileges. [...]

In Poland, we still have this mistaken belief that the majority is allowed to do anything it wants. When I start to discuss that with people, many confirm it. I ask them, “So you like the current situation?” and they say, “Yes”. “We have an ultra-Catholic, ultra-right-wing government and it is introducing certain types of bans and that is okay”. “Yes, because the majority is right”. I say, “All right, then imagine now that in four years the situation changes and an ultra-left government gains power. They say that with a certain income you are allowed to have only one child, you can get abortion up to fifth month, marriage between same sex couples can be performed in churches, and the church needs to respect that. Is that okay for you?” I hear, “No”. So what's the difference? Liberal democracy is about the majority ruling but taking care of the minorities, too. There are certain laws—rules that are immutable. And no matter who is in power they should be preserved.

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Bloomberg: Poland Is Testing the EU's Commitment to Democracy

This state of play is the result of elections last year that gave an absolute majority to PiS in the legislature, even though it won 37.6 percent of the vote on a turnout of 51 percent. The party’s leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, effectively combined conservative social policy with populist economic policy. (Sound familiar?) [...]

So far there’s been no violence. But KOD, a new pro-democracy movement, put an estimated 200,000 people on the streets for a protest in early May. Its leaders say they are worried that it’s only a matter of time before blood is spilled. [...]

It’s hard to imagine that the language of the unrepentant PiS vote wasn’t affected by the rhetoric of the movement pushing for the U.K. to leave the EU, which emphasizes that membership, particularly in the European Commission, compromises British sovereignty.

Another echo is the recent insistence by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey that the EU can’t tell him how to govern his country.

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