Development of Parties and Party Systems in ... - lah@sam.sdu.dk

the later Freedom Union (UW), but defected from Democratic Union (UD) and joined AWS. At thebeginning SKL had 2,000 members, increasing to almost 20,000 according to official statements.From the outset SKL did not exclude a future break with AWS, should cooperation with the otherpolitical groups in AWS become meaningless. Until the late 2000 the liberal SKL constituted one ofAWS’ three ”legs.The competition between the parties appealing to the new middle class was intensified especiallyafter successful performance of the independent liberal candidate Andrzej Olechewski at thepresidential election in November 2000. At that election Andrzej Olechowski gained more votesthan the trade union Solidarity leader Marian Krzaklewski and chairman of AWS. January 2001,after some hesitation a majority of SKL delegates took the decision to join the Civic Platform (PO).Soon after the 2001 election some parliamentarians from SKL who were elected to parliament onthe Civic Platform’s (PO’s) lists at the 2001 election defected from PO and established a new partycalled SKL-NP (“SKL-Nowei Polski”). Thus the reconstruction of the Polish Right seemed almostendless.From the outset AWS adhered to the Christian values, inevitably bringing the Christian-NationalZach in a key position after the 1997 election. ZChN was established at a rather early time, alreadyin October 1989. At the time of the foundation by most observers ZChN was considered as a post-Solidarity political formation. Like many other political groupings also ZChN based its ideology onSolidarity’s “ethos” with close links to the Catholic Church. The party supported the introduction ofmarket economy, but the market should be regulated by a strong state and supported by a Christianinspired constitution. The party expressed certain reservations about AWS’ liberal policy line,instead underlining the social dimension. Furthermore, a sharp policy line was demanded as regardsadoption of laws limiting the policial influence of former communists and their collaborators(”dekomunizacja”).Like the Centre Alliance (PC) ZChN shared the opinion that the moderate policy line expressed bythe first non-communist Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki was a mistake. According to ZChNthe reconciliatory line towards the “post-communists” should have been cancelled soon after thecollapse of the old system, i.e. after the fall of the Berlin wall and the demise of the Soviet Union.Because of the too “soft” line most Poles, it was said, were not able to distinguish between lack offreedom, i.e. the old system, and real freedom, i.e. the new system, because the old communistnomenklatura maintained a considerable political and economic influence in the post-communistPoland.Some groups in ZChN expressed nationalistic and even xenophobic attitudes. The party has beensceptically inclined towards further European integration supporting the soft eurosceptical almostgaullistic principle about “a Europe of homelands”. From the beginning the coalition potential ofZChN was great, for that reason ZChN decided to join Olszewskis and Suchocka's centre rightgovernments. Having introduced itself as catholic fundamentalistic ZChN became a morepragmatically orientated party. In accordance with that policy line ZChN voted against the nonconfidencemotion put forward by the trade union Solidarity against the Hanna Suchcka's Solidarityled government.Before the 1991 election ZChN took part in the election alliance WAK with ZChN as the coreparty. At the 1993 election many pensioners, private entrepreneurs and workers voted ZChN. Alsothe share among housewives has been relatively high. Opposite only few students, self-employed67