The impact of the 1998 local elections on the emerging Polish party system

Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics

Volumn 15, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 80-100

  Szczerbiak, Aleks ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ELECTION; NATIONAL POLITICS; PARTY POLITICS;

POLAND;

EID: 0033431680     PISSN: 13523279     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13523279908415414     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. See A. Sabbat-Swidlicka, 'The Polish Local Election Results', RFE/RL Report on Eastern Europe, 29 June 1990, pp.35-8; and A. Sabbat-Swidlicka, 'Local Elections Redress Political Imbalance in Poland', RFE/RL Research Report, Vol.3, No.27 (1994), pp. 101-9.
2. See A. Sabbat-Swidlicka, 'The Polish Local Election Results', RFE/RL Report on Eastern Europe, 29 June 1990, pp.35-8; and A. Sabbat-Swidlicka, 'Local Elections Redress Political Imbalance in Poland', RFE/RL Research Report, Vol.3, No.27 (1994), pp. 101-9.
3. See A. Szczerbiak, 'Testing Party Models in East-Central Europe: Local Party Organization in Post-Communist Poland', Party Politics, Vol.5, No.4 (1999; forthcoming).
4. The government's original proposal was to create only 12 provinces but, internally divided and lacking the 60 per cent parliamentary majority to overturn a presidential veto, they were forced to compromise with the opposition and create four additional provinces. However, centrally appointed provincial governors continued to operate alongside, and share power with, all the new provincial councils.
5. See, for example, Frances Millard, 'The Shaping of the Polish Party System, 1989-93', East European Politics and Societies, Vol.8, No.3 (1994), pp.467-94; and Paul G. Lewis, 'Poland's New Parties in the Post-communist Political System', in Gordon Wightman (ed.), Party Formation in East-Central Europe: Post-communist Politics in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria (Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1994), pp.29-47.
6. See, for example, Frances Millard, 'The Shaping of the Polish Party System, 1989-93', East European Politics and Societies, Vol.8, No.3 (1994), pp.467-94; and Paul G. Lewis, 'Poland's New Parties in the Post-communist Political System', in Gordon Wightman (ed.), Party Formation in East-Central Europe: Post-communist Politics in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria (Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1994), pp.29-47.
7. On the 1991 elections, see Frances Millard, 'The Polish Parliamentary Elections of October 1991', Soviet Studies, Vol.44, No.5 (1992), pp.837-55.
8. On the 1993 elections, see Frances Millard, 'The Polish Parliamentary Elections of September 1993', Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol.27, No.3 (1994). pp.295-313.
9. The most important provisions were a tough five per cent threshold for individual parties and eight per cent for electoral coalitions, an increase in the number of electoral districts from 37 to 52, the use of the d'Hondt counting method for seat allocation, and a seven per cent threshold for sharing in the distribution of 69 seats allocated at national level.
10. On the 1995 presidential elections, see Frances Millard, 'The 1995 Polish Presidential Election', Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol.12, No.1 (1996), pp. 101-9.
11. On the 1997 parliamentary elections, see A. Szczerbiak, 'Electoral Politics in Poland: The Parliamentary Elections of 1997', Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol.14, No.3 (1997), pp.58-83.
12. This was partly because of a late challenge from a rival AWS-inspired pensioners' party with a similar name and acronym, although, as Table 1 shows, even these two groupings' combined votes fell well short of the five per cent threshold.
13. See, for example, M.D. Zdort, 'Kandydat katolicki i radykalny', Rzeczpospolita, 22 June 1998.
14. See M. D. Zdort. 'Nie musimy być w AWS', Rzeczpospolita, 21 Dec. 1998.
15. See M. D. Zdort, 'ROP jak salami', Rzeczpospolita, 7 Aug. 1998.
16. See E. K. Czaczkowska, 'Teraz z lewica̧', Rzeczpospolita, 8 July 1998.
17. See E. Olczyk, 'Chca̧ byé samodzielni', Rzeczpospolita, 2 March 1998.
18. See Czaczkowska, 'Teraz z lewica̧'.
19. His party colleagues elected Oleksy SdRP leader in January 1996 as a mistaken act of public solidarity when he was forced to resign the prime ministership.
20. See A. Kublik, 'Duze miasta: SLD o 5 proc. przed AWS', Gazeta Wyborcza, 14 Oct. 1998.
21. See 'Koalicje powstaja̧' upadaja̧', Rzeczpospolita, 22 Oct. 1998.
22. See E. Olczyk, 'Mniejsze zlo Unii Pracy', Rzeczpospolita, 12 Nov. 1998.
23. See, for example, 'Rozliczanie wyników', Gazeta Wyborcza, 19 Oct. 1998.
24. See, for example, 'Ludzie trzȩśli siȩ z wściekłoṡci: Rozmowa z Helena̧ Góralska̧, sekretarzem klubu UW', Gazeta Wyborcza, 15 Oct. 1998, and M. Subotić and K. Olszewski, 'Unia Wolności nie może mówić, że jest partia̧ samorza̧dowców', Rzeczpospolita, 17 Oct. 1998. Balcerowicz's original proposal floated earlier in the year was to introduce a single, flat-rate income tax. However, presumably in order to sweeten the pill for the worse-off during the transition period, he ended up producing a 'two-tier' tax proposal whose net effect was to benefit top earners and the poorest while hitting middle-income earners in the short term.
25. See, for example, 'Ludzie trzȩśli siȩ z wściekłoṡci: Rozmowa z Helena̧ Góralska̧, sekretarzem klubu UW', Gazeta Wyborcza, 15 Oct. 1998, and M. Subotić and K. Olszewski, 'Unia Wolności nie może mówić, że jest partia̧ samorza̧dowców', Rzeczpospolita, 17 Oct. 1998. Balcerowicz's original proposal floated earlier in the year was to introduce a single, flat-rate income tax. However, presumably in order to sweeten the pill for the worse-off during the transition period, he ended up producing a 'two-tier' tax proposal whose net effect was to benefit top earners and the poorest while hitting middle-income earners in the short term.
26. For an excellent analysis of how AWS successfully harnessed the government machine during the local election campaign, see M. D. Zdort, 'Premier w podróży', Rzeczpospolita, 19 Oct. 1998.
27. See, for example, Elektoraty partii politycznych i możliwości przepyłwu miȩdzy nimi (Warsaw: CBOS, 1997).
28. See, for example, J. Paradowska, 'Dłjgic liczenie', Polityka, 24 Oct. 1998; 'Radukałom nie. Rozmowa z professorem Edmundem Wnukiem-Lipińskim', Gazeta Wyborcza, 26 Oct. 1998; and M. Janicki, 'Bez Rodziny i Ojezyzny', Polityka, 1 Nov. 1998.
29. See, for example, J. Paradowska, 'Dłjgic liczenie', Polityka, 24 Oct. 1998; 'Radukałom nie. Rozmowa z professorem Edmundem Wnukiem-Lipińskim', Gazeta Wyborcza, 26 Oct. 1998; and M. Janicki, 'Bez Rodziny i Ojezyzny', Polityka, 1 Nov. 1998.
30. See, for example, J. Paradowska, 'Dłjgic liczenie', Polityka, 24 Oct. 1998; 'Radukałom nie. Rozmowa z professorem Edmundem Wnukiem-Lipińskim', Gazeta Wyborcza, 26 Oct. 1998; and M. Janicki, 'Bez Rodziny i Ojezyzny', Polityka, 1 Nov. 1998.
31. The new local electoral law stipulated that larger communes (over 20,000 voters), counties and provinces elected councillors on a proportional basis from party lists. However, the law also encompassed some of the provisions evident in the 1993 electoral law which discriminated in favour of larger parties, such as the d'Hondt method of seat allocation and the application of a five per cent threshold in the elections to the county and provincial tiers. At the same time, the fact that the electoral constituencies in larger communes, counties and provinces elected anything between three and 15 councillors mean that the de facto threshold was actually higher than five per cent in many cases. Smaller communes (with fewer than 20,000 residents) elected councillors in one-to five-member constituencies on a majoritarian system, although many of these were (nominally, at least) independents not aligned to any party list: see Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczpospolitej Polski, Ordynacja wyborcza do rad gmin, rad powiatów i sejmików wojewodztw (Warsaw, 27 July 1998); and Ż. Semprich, 'Jak wybierzemy radnych', Rzeczpospolita, 11 Aug. 1998.
32. The new local electoral law stipulated that larger communes (over 20,000 voters), counties and provinces elected councillors on a proportional basis from party lists. However, the law also encompassed some of the provisions evident in the 1993 electoral law which discriminated in favour of larger parties, such as the d'Hondt method of seat allocation and the application of a five per cent threshold in the elections to the county and provincial tiers. At the same time, the fact that the electoral constituencies in larger communes, counties and provinces elected anything between three and 15 councillors mean that the de facto threshold was actually higher than five per cent in many cases. Smaller communes (with fewer than 20,000 residents) elected councillors in one-to five-member constituencies on a majoritarian system, although many of these were (nominally, at least) independents not aligned to any party list: see Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczpospolitej Polski, Ordynacja wyborcza do rad gmin, rad powiatów i sejmików wojewodztw (Warsaw, 27 July 1998); and Ż. Semprich, 'Jak wybierzemy radnych', Rzeczpospolita, 11 Aug. 1998.
33. See M.D. Zdort, 'O rza̧d katolicko-narodowych dusz', Rzeczpospolita, 18 Sept. 1998.
34. See 'Rożne koncepje na narodowa̧ alternatywȩ', Gazeta Wyborcza, 28 Aug. 1998; 'Naród silny i dobrotliwy', Gazeta Wyborcza, 29 Sept. 1998; and 'Cia̧gle usiłuja̧ nas ka̧sać. Rozmowa z professorem Pitorem Jaroszyńskim, prezesem Stowarzyszenie Rodzina Polska', Rzeczpospolita, 27 Oct. 1998.
35. See 'Rożne koncepje na narodowa̧ alternatywȩ', Gazeta Wyborcza, 28 Aug. 1998; 'Naród silny i dobrotliwy', Gazeta Wyborcza, 29 Sept. 1998; and 'Cia̧gle usiłuja̧ nas ka̧sać. Rozmowa z professorem Pitorem Jaroszyńskim, prezesem Stowarzyszenie Rodzina Polska', Rzeczpospolita, 27 Oct. 1998.
36. See 'Rożne koncepje na narodowa̧ alternatywȩ', Gazeta Wyborcza, 28 Aug. 1998; 'Naród silny i dobrotliwy', Gazeta Wyborcza, 29 Sept. 1998; and 'Cia̧gle usiłuja̧ nas ka̧sać. Rozmowa z professorem Pitorem Jaroszyńskim, prezesem Stowarzyszenie Rodzina Polska', Rzeczpospolita, 27 Oct. 1998.
37. This was, perhaps, not surprising given the evidence that the ROP electorate was distinguished primarily by its strong personal attachment to Jan Olszewski rather than representing some kind of radical right-wing anti-AWS hard core, and the RPO campaign did not focus particularly heavily on Olszewski as such: see Portrety Liderów Opozycji (Warsaw: CBOS, April 1997).
38. See E. Olczyk, 'Załozyciele odeszli', Rzeczpospolita, 15 Dec. 1998.
39. See A. Kublik, 'Potencjał szantażu UW. Rozmowa z politologiem dr Radosławem Markowskim', Gazeta Wyborcza, 15 Oct. 1998.
40. See K. Pankowski. 'Lewicowośé-Prawicowośé: deklaracje polityczne Polaków 1990-1997', in L. Kolarska-Bobińska and R. Markowski (eds.), Prognozy i Wybory: Polska Demokracja '95 (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe, 1997), pp.69-108.
41. See 'AWS rozpoczyna kampaniȩ', Rzeczpospolita, 17 Aug. 1998; and W. Załuska, 'Ludzie patrza̧ na górȩ. Rozmowa z szefem Krajowego Sztabu Wyborczego AWS Józefem Połkowskim', Gazeta Wyborcza, 24 Aug. 1998.
42. See 'AWS rozpoczyna kampaniȩ', Rzeczpospolita, 17 Aug. 1998; and W. Załuska, 'Ludzie patrza̧ na górȩ. Rozmowa z szefem Krajowego Sztabu Wyborczego AWS Józefem Połkowskim', Gazeta Wyborcza, 24 Aug. 1998.
43. See 'Dekomunizacja przez reformy', Gazeta Wyborcza, 5 Oct. 1998.
44. See J. Koral, 'Rza̧dy koalicji to nasza korzyść. Rozmowa z Krzysztofem Janikiem, sekretarzem generalnym SdRP, szefem Centralnego Sztabu Wyborczego SLD', Gazeta Wyborcza, 2 Sept. 1998.
45. See 'Owacja dla szefa partii', Rzeczpospolita, 28 Sept. 1998.
46. See, for example, Geoffrey Evans and Stephen Whitefield, 'Identifying the Bases of Party Competition in Eastern Europe', British Journal of Political Science, Vol.23 (1993), pp.521-48.
47. See, for example, L. Kolarska-Bobinska, 'Co innego bȩdzie dzielić Polaków', Rzeczpospolita, 26 Nov. 1998.