Polish Puzzle

Polish Puzzle

Politics in Eastern Europe is puzzling, and not just to outsiders.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Politics in Eastern Europe is puzzling, and not just to outsiders. The September 21 general election in Poland, in which the Democratic Left Alliance (S.L.D.) of President Aleksander Kwasniewski lost its parliamentary majority, is a good illustration. Far from rejoicing at such a setback for the former Communists, as might have been expected, the financial establishment has reacted with real concern. On the other hand, the victory of Marian Krzaklewski’s Solidarity Election Action (A.W.S.) party, because of the word Solidamosc in its title, may have been welcomed in some quarters as a revival of the once-glorious Polish labor movement. Except it is nothing of the sort. In fact, it marks the success of a coalition that comprises a host of clerical and reactionary parties and did well on this occasion because, for once, they managed to unite for electoral purposes.

Yet since the coalition is built around a labor union, will it not at least defend the interests of the workers? Even this is most unlikely, Taking one-third of the vote and some 212 seats in the 460-member Sejm, or lower house, A.W.S. cannot form a solid government on its own. Its only serious possibility as a partner is that other Solidarity descendant–or should one say bastard?–the Freedom Union (U.W.), now the party of Leszek Balcerowicz, who presided over Poland’s “shock therapy” and is eager to speed up privatization.

Logic might point to a coalition between these champions of capitalism and the former Communists, now fully converted to the same gospel. But this is ruled out by old cleavages. Balcerowicz’s party, turning down the advances of the S.L.D. (which took 27 percent of the vote), is keen to form a government with the victorious A.W;S., though it is not very clear what the economic platform will be. Will they unite against “red capitalists”? Any attempt to initiate a legal purge of former Communists through some new law of lustration would meet two major obstacles. One is very practical: Former party card-holders are to be found in most political coalitions. The other is more constitutional: Kwasniewski, whose presidential mandate extends till the next millennium, can veto any constitutional change and count on S.L.D. backing with a likely 163 deputies, more &an enough to block an override of any veto.

In this potential stalemate, Polish politics appears both paradoxical and highly unstable. Indeed, it will remain so as long as the parties keep fighting yesteryear’s battles. That allows reactionaries, draped in the mantle of Solidarity and backed (discreetly and thus more efficiently this time) by the Catholic Church, to parade as the only defenders of the downtrodden.

Be part of 160 years of confronting power 


Every day,
The Nation exposes the administration’s unchecked and reckless abuses of power through clear-eyed, uncompromising independent journalism—the kind of journalism that holds the powerful to account and helps build alternatives to the world we live in now. 

We have just the right people to confront this moment. Speaking on Democracy Now!, Nation DC Bureau chief Chris Lehmann translated the complex terms of the budget bill into the plain truth, describing it as “the single largest upward redistribution of wealth effectuated by any piece of legislation in our history.” In the pages of the June print issue and on The Nation Podcast, Jacob Silverman dove deep into how crypto has captured American campaign finance, revealing that it was the top donor in the 2024 elections as an industry and won nearly every race it supported.

This is all in addition to The Nation’s exceptional coverage of matters of war and peace, the courts, reproductive justice, climate, immigration, healthcare, and much more.

Our 160-year history of sounding the alarm on presidential overreach and the persecution of dissent has prepared us for this moment. 2025 marks a new chapter in this history, and we need you to be part of it.

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 during our June Fundraising Campaign to fund our change-making reporting and analysis. Stand for bold, independent journalism and donate to support The Nation today.

Onward, 

Katrina vanden Heuvel 
Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x