The Polish Elections and Beyond
“On 9 October Polish voters re-elected the moderate centre-right party Civic Platform (member of EPP family) to lead Poland for the next four years. For the first time since the first fully democratic parliamentary elections in 1991 Poland will have the same ruling coalition and the same prime minister in office for the second term in a row. This result is a personal triumph of PM Donald Tusk, who almost two years ago announced that he would lead his party to win parliamentary elections for the second time, a political feat that no-one in Poland had managed to perform before him.
Tusk came to power in October 2007 in early elections called after the collapse of the populist-nationalist coalition government led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Kaczynski, whose twin brother was elected Poland's president in 2005, had come to power promising a 'moral revolution' in Polish public life and proceeded to carry out his electoral promises in a distinctly authoritarian manner. He also conducted foreign policy based on the idea of defending Polish 'national interests' against Moscow, Berlin and Brussels and in consequence of his 'zero-sum game' attitude to international relations Poland soon came to be regarded as an 'awkward member' of the European Union. Kaczynski's electoral defeat after just two years in power was largely due to mobilisation of young, educated and urban voters who were unhappy with the direction in which he was taking the country and his anti-European sentiments at the time when most Poles strongly felt that EU membership benefitted Poland. In fact, Kaczynski's defeat was greeted by some commentators as 'Poland's second return to Europe'.
Unlike his predecessor, Donald Tusk together with Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski pursued a policy of constructive engagement in European Union affairs and improvement of relations with two of our most important neighbours, Germany and Russia. Such policy was met with approval by the majority of Poles, despite the fact that it was strongly attacked by Kaczynski and his Law and Justice (PiS) party as defeatist. Tusk's government also had to steer Poland through the global economic crisis which started in 2008 and cope with the aftermath of the Smolensk air crash in April 2010, which killed President Lech Kaczynski and many other prominent public figures and the following nationalist backlash. Despite such adversary circumstances, Tusk's party defeated PiS in the European elections in 2009 as well as in the presidential and local elections in 2010. His support came largely from his competent handling of the economy throughout the crisis but also from the continued pro-European and constructive course in foreign policy, which was appreciated by most Polish voters. Poland's Presidency in the EU Council, which overlapped with the elections, also helped Tusk to underline his commitment to Europe as opposed to Kaczynski's nationalism.
During its term of office, Civic Platform has moved more and more towards the centre of the political scene, successfully competing for voters' support with both PiS and the left-wing Democratic Left Alliance. Tusk's victory is a vote in favour of political stability and Poland's continued engagement in Europe. It will make it possible for Poland to focus on the successful completion of the EU Presidency. Among the major challenges facing the old/new government in the coming years will be to stabilise public finances without endangering economic growth, accelerate reform of the retirement system and put forward a roadmap for Polish membership in the Eurozone. Last but not least, Poland will have to struggle against cuts in the next EU budget as well as make sure that the Eastern Partnership initiative can effectively bring the six partner countries from Eastern Europe closer to the EU. This is clearly no time for PM Tusk to rest on his laurels.“
Dr. Jacek Kucharczyk, a sociologist and policy analyst, is president of the Executive Board at the Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw, see also http://www.boell.eu/sites/default/files/downloads/Dossier_Polish_Presid…