Poles are notoriously bad voters. In 1989, during the first semi-free elections, 62.7 percent of voters bothered to vote. This already quite low percentage was never achieved again in the following thirty years. In the country of Solidarity, the trade union movement that played a key role in the fight against communism in the former Eastern Bloc, there appeared to be surprisingly little interest in converting the newly acquired freedom into democratic action. Against this background, the turnout in last Sunday’s elections can already be called historic: 74.38 percent of Poles voted. The lines were so long that some polling stations had to remain open late into the night. Ballots ran out.
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but also mentally, culturally and politically
This unprecedented hunger for democracy has been aroused by the current ruling party PiS (Law and Justice). Over the past eight years, it has steered the country in a direction that a majority of Poles do not like. Under PiS, Poland became a country where women with dangerous pregnancies die because they cannot get an abortion. Where judges are pushed aside because they make judicial decisions that the government does not like. Where opposition politicians are vilified with unprecedented ferocity, and with the help of an aggressive state broadcaster, and even their lives are not guaranteed. In recent years there have already been massive demonstrations, for example against the dismantling of women’s rights. This protest reached the voting booth on Sunday.
Ultimately, it was democracy itself that was in danger of being compromised with PiS at the helm. The referendum that the party organized at the same time as the elections was telling, with leading questions devoid of any context about ‘illegal migration from the Middle East and Africa’ (more or less?) and the increase in the retirement age (pro or con?). Another example of how easily democracy can be hijacked and how important it is that citizens remain involved in politics in their country, no matter how annoying that sometimes is. A large majority of voters indicated at the polling stations on Sunday that they did not want to participate in the referendum, making the result not binding.
This election is good news for the EU. While in other countries – Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary and recently Slovakia – populists and extremists appear to be gaining a foothold, in Poland this process has now – at least temporarily – come to a standstill. The war in Ukraine had improved Poland’s standing in the EU, but it is now important that Poland once again plays a positive, significant European role in other areas. Major EU countries have major responsibilities.
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That question is central to the titanic struggle between two politicians
All’s well that ends well? First of all, power still has to be transferred. PiS is already sending signals that this will not happen without a fight. Once this jousting is over, the new government will have a monster job ahead of it. Much of the damage done to the rule of law, but also to state broadcaster TVP, ministries and diplomatic services, will have to be repaired. And that will not be possible without some form of political interference, or exactly what gives most Poles the shivers after eight years of political hostage. Moreover, Poland remains deeply divided: PiS ended up as the largest party on Sunday, but it still received more than 35 percent of the votes, especially in the poorer east. The penny fell in the right direction this time, but there is no guarantee that this will also be the case in the next election.