Against the odds, while Law and Justice - Poland’s nationalist ruling party (PiS in Polish) - won the most votes in Sunday’s election, it is heading for defeat. A bloc of three opposition parties secured a comfortable majority of ballots cast, as counting neared completion Today. The Polish opposition, led by former Polish prime minister and former European Council president Donald Tusk as head of the Civic Coalition, was able to defied the odds, thanks to a mobilized anti-PiS coalition and the organic strength of Poland’s civil society. Though PiS won a plurality with 35.4 percent of the vote, it does not have a path to a governing coalition. The opposition Civic Platform, led by Tusk, came in second with 30.7 percent but has two coalition partners - the Third Way and the Left party- which would give it a majority.
There's certainly a lot of shared political history there. Poland has its catholic right wing base just as we have the evangelicals, both heavily influencing politics and anathema to democracy in so many ways. (Are any churches working on saving souls and rendering aid to the poor and the outcasts these days?) Of course courting the power of the churches is good politics. Ask Putin, a non-believer who wisely wooed the Russian Orthodox clergy as he ascended in Russian politics. In the final analysis the global conflict may not be between democracy and authoritarianism as much as it's between religious fundamentalism and secularism.
What a system to have the PiS party hold the presidency after the opposition appears to have enough seats to govern? It will be a rough ride. Glass half full - I hope civic society will do all it can to reach out to the farmers who have played such a large role in supporting PiS. Coming together is much more difficult than breaking things apart. We know that only too well in the US. The former guy left plenty of his own apparatchiks in various places - gym jordan being one of the key figures. If anyone should be thrown out, it is this guy. Yes - we have our own version of Polish politics here and it is not going away anytime soon. There are plenty of right wing catholics who are in league with evangelicals. What we need to do in the US is build a more robust civil society state by state. It has always amazed me that some of the most progressive folks are often found in the very states where the politics has been purposefully stacked against them. Creativity and commitment seems to grow in those conditions, especially when people find one another, share their dreams, and build a movement together that intends to do what is just and truthful for the whole of the society. Building is harder than breaking. Building however is the way to maintain hope. Thanks Tom for a super update on Poland's elections. Praying all the folks involved will make it safely to establishing the new governing coalition.
Does the Polish judiciary have the guts to turn down "it was rigged" lawsuits? Will there suddenly be theories about the "full powers" of the president? I know zippo about the Polish Constitution; how vulnerable is it to attack that would endanger this win?
A glimmer of light! We all needed that. Press on we must and win we will.
The real fight begins after the election is won. How well we know that.
Spot on Jeri.
We learned the hard way.
Just the ray of hope for democracy during this dark time... Cheers to the brave people of Poland and a toast to Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel!
There's certainly a lot of shared political history there. Poland has its catholic right wing base just as we have the evangelicals, both heavily influencing politics and anathema to democracy in so many ways. (Are any churches working on saving souls and rendering aid to the poor and the outcasts these days?) Of course courting the power of the churches is good politics. Ask Putin, a non-believer who wisely wooed the Russian Orthodox clergy as he ascended in Russian politics. In the final analysis the global conflict may not be between democracy and authoritarianism as much as it's between religious fundamentalism and secularism.
Anne Applebaum is great, isn't she? Really has a handle on the dynamics in Poland. Her article in The Atlantic is well worth the read.
Yes glimmer of light. Thanks for the post TC
Please God, let it be so!
What a system to have the PiS party hold the presidency after the opposition appears to have enough seats to govern? It will be a rough ride. Glass half full - I hope civic society will do all it can to reach out to the farmers who have played such a large role in supporting PiS. Coming together is much more difficult than breaking things apart. We know that only too well in the US. The former guy left plenty of his own apparatchiks in various places - gym jordan being one of the key figures. If anyone should be thrown out, it is this guy. Yes - we have our own version of Polish politics here and it is not going away anytime soon. There are plenty of right wing catholics who are in league with evangelicals. What we need to do in the US is build a more robust civil society state by state. It has always amazed me that some of the most progressive folks are often found in the very states where the politics has been purposefully stacked against them. Creativity and commitment seems to grow in those conditions, especially when people find one another, share their dreams, and build a movement together that intends to do what is just and truthful for the whole of the society. Building is harder than breaking. Building however is the way to maintain hope. Thanks Tom for a super update on Poland's elections. Praying all the folks involved will make it safely to establishing the new governing coalition.
Does the Polish judiciary have the guts to turn down "it was rigged" lawsuits? Will there suddenly be theories about the "full powers" of the president? I know zippo about the Polish Constitution; how vulnerable is it to attack that would endanger this win?