Poland

TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING of political divisions into the left and the right have altered their meaning considerably in Poland due to communist rule after World War II. Changes after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 brought about the rebirth of political party life in Poland, but the division into the left and the right is sometimes very far from the understanding of these terms in the West. Also, barely a few of the newly formed parties manage to survive more than half a decade and still play an important role in the political life of Poland.

In the years from 1945 to 1989, the communist political model was in force in Poland (called the Peoples' Republic of Poland). Only three parties were legal: the Communist Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza—PZPR (Polish United Workers' Party); peasant Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe (United Peasant Party); and representing craftsmen, Stronnictwo Demokratyczne (Democratic Party). PZPR had its leading role confirmed in the Polish constitution and the two other parties were its satellites. All parties accepted the Marxist-Leninist principles of state, economic, education, social, religious, and cultural policy. At the same time, their functioning was based on nomenclature and statism, which in the long run proved an absolute failure and resulted in numerous crises and change of the political system in 1989.

Following the changes in 1989, the PZPR dissolved itself in January 1990. Its members formed the Social Democratic party, which created a leftist electoral coalition in the 1991 parliamentary elections (gaining over 10 percent). This new party, as well as other left groups established after 1989, claim to have nothing in common with the communist past, although they inherited all the possessions (real estates, cars, equipment, bank accounts) of the PZPR. They claim to defend workers' rights and work toward a social welfare state. Into the 2000s, there are four parties that can be considered left in the parliament and one outside it. The Polski Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish Peasant Party) should also be considered left, although their focus is mainly on the struggle for the rights of farmers and the rural population.

The largest leftist party is Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej—SLD (Alliance of Democratic Left), established on April 15, 1999. Essentially, it is a party based on activists of the former PZPR. The same group changed the formula and structure of their party several times between 1989 and 1999, depending on the political situation and need of the electorate. The political formation that formed SLD won the 1993 parliamentary elections and formed a coalition government together with the Polish Peasant Party. After four years in power, SLD lost the 1997 elections to Akcja Wyborcza Solidarnosc—AWS (Solidarity Electoral Action). In 2001, it returned as the major player winning (together with Unia Pracy) 41 percent of votes in the parliamentary elections. The success was based on an electoral program that stressed equal rights for all, reducing unemployment, equal access to education and health service, equal rights for women, ethics and transparency in government, and the fight against corruption. SLD's leader, Leszek Miller, became the prime minister of the new, left government. The first two-and-a-half years of SLD's rule proved a complete failure; backing for the formation slid down to 10 percent, and approval of the prime minister was under 10 percent. SLD did not manage to meet any of its electoral promises and was involved in numerous political scandals and corruption. Leszek Miller had to step down as party leader (new leader: Krzysztof Janik) and prime minister. SLD itself split into SLD and the Polish Social Democratic Party on March 26, 2004, putting into question the existence of SLD in the future.

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