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

PP expected that the election alliance AWS sooner or later would break down because of internaldisagreements and after that had happened a new and more authentic and ”real” political right inPoland would come forward on the ruins of the old AWS. That in fact took place at the 2001election in the shape of The Liga of Polish Families (LPR). Furthermore, PP argued fiercely againstPolish membership of the European Union and against joining a federal Europe. In more“pragmatic” ways than PP the ZChN talked about a Europe consisting of nation states underliningPolish interests in the negotiations with the EU. PP defected from AWS, while mainly for tacticalreasons ZChN remained in the alliance, also after the defeat of Marian Krzaklewski at the 2000presidential election. The election in 1993 made clear that parliamentary representation could not beobtained by going alone.Confronting other important policy issues PP followed a uncompromising line and several timesbroke the party discipline at voting in the parliament, while ZChN aimed to maintain the partydiscipline and the influence on the law-making process. While PP primarily focused on the fightagainst the liberal Freedom Union (UW), ZChN “bombarded” the parliament with policy proposalslike a ban on pornography and sale of narcotics, tax release for families with more children and alonger maternity leave. Thus, inside AWS PP acted like a veto-group, ZChN like a policy-creatingfaction. In addition, ZChN behaved like a relevant party and a party able to take governmentalpositions. Nonetheless ZChN clearly generated more polarization in Polish politics by (re)activatingstate versus church cleavages. At the 2001 election ZChN lost representation in Sejm. At thenational congress in March 2002 unemployment, the bad implementation of the four big reforms,internal disagreements and splits was brought forward when explaining the election defeat to thepublic.After the electio defeat the eurosceptical line was sharpened. Thus, the new SLD-UP-PSLgovernment was crititized for “servility” against Bruxelles, the fast growing unemploymentespecially among young people and the liquidation of the pro-family policy of the formergovernment. According to the chairman Jerzy Kropiwnicki the party had left “pessimism” and“frustrations” behind. At the 2002 local elections ZChN was ready to enter party coalitions pointingto the fact that the election law mostly benefited the bigger political parties and also party alliances.The League of Polish Families (LPR) obtained 38 seats in Sejm at the 2001 national election. Thehistory of LPR goes back the years leading up to the “break-through” back in 1989 and has takenpart in the elections under different names. Those who formed the League expected that AWSbefore long would compromise itself polically because of the responsibilities in government and thecooperation with the liberal Freedom Union (UW). Back in 1997 several among the laterparlamentarians from LPR were elected on the lists of AWS due to the fact that those people beforethe election had been supported by Radio Maryja and the director Tadeusz Rydzyk who behind thescene was the “real” leader of the Leage of Polish Families (LPR). From the outset Tadeusz Rydzykplayed a outmost controversiel and contradictory role. Some months before the 2001 election noopinion polls gave the party any chance of representation in the new Sejm at the forthcomingelection. In order to avoid to go to the election in the shape of an election alliance and forced to passthe treshold of 8 pct. of the votes, the new party chose the party name from one of the 10 politicalgroupings that were represented in the coalition and thus formally appeared as a “standard politicalparty”.69