Poland Nearly nine months after Poland’s parliamentary elections it seems clear that a massive shift has taken place on the left. The post-communist Democratic Left Alliance is terminally ill, and a new, more populist and authentic movement is taking its place. Together party (Partia Razem) has the idealism, activist base and credibility needed to take it all – despite the road to success being a rocky one indeed.
In the short tenure of its government,Jaroslaw Kaczynki’s Law and Justice party (PiS) has set the stage for a new kind of democratic regime. It is a „winner takes all” government, and that literally means staffing state-owned companies and the central administration with party loyalists on a scale of epic proportions. In contrast to its predecessors The Civic Platform (PO) and Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) this means more than giving out sinecures as a form of cementing the political base. We are witnessing a gigantic revolution in accordance with Kaczynki’s theory of elites replacement. During the course of his career the dictatorial leader of PiS has always preached that problems of the state are a result of the actions of corrupt people, part of „the system” (układ). Naturaly and how conveniently for PiS, forces of the oppostion in the likes of PO (consistently in crisis under an uninspiring leadership of former party secretary Grzegorz Schetyna), SLD and Modern (Nowoczesna) are depicted as the main representantives of these dark, „non-Polish” forces. It is a clever game of the friend-enemy narrative, and alas a successful one (rumour has it Kaczyński is a quiet admirer of Carl Schmidt’s views on democracy and its internal contradictions).
What puts the grassroots, socialist-leaning Razem party ahead of the game, apart from the traditional social democratic value system and a refreshing left-populist rhetoric, is its indifference towards this artifical story. A completely fresh force, made up predominantly of young, non-politicians, it stands outside the tribal battle, and so – in theory – holds the key to reorganising the public debate on completely new terms. So much for theory, the task at hand is a challenge. Recent opinion polls put Together just below the electorial threshold of five per cent. The party is comfortably above the invisible SLD but still in a different league than the parliamentary opposition parties.
Razem faces difficult challenges and seems determined to commit the classic mistakes of political novices. They refuse to bring on a single leader, although to all who care and observe, it is quite obvious that Adrian Zandberg, whose maverick debate performance put Together on the scene in the first place, is a natural and clear choice. Gifted with a mix of knowledge, charisma and a populist style, he has the potential to be the Polish Tspiras/Iglesias. On the other hand, although occasionally radical, Together seems determined to be technocratic at the same time. The overall message lacks emotional strength, focusing more on policy details. Third and last, lacking a coherent story, Together more often than not, seems eager to copy the idealistic but dusty vision of the Scandinavian welfare state social democracy success story. A good idea in more peaceful circumstances, not so much in times of troubles.
Nonetheless, the ruling force seems suspisciously cautious in criticising Razem or even acknowledging its existence. Is it beacuse the pro-social leftwingers seem a natural alternative to the econominacally leftist but anoyingly conservative, clerical and authoritarian PiS? There is much talk of an autumn offensive towards opposition parties, including the involvement of the prosecutor’s office and a possible early local elections, aiming at further consolidation of power. In case of the latter, leftwing forces would face their first serious test following a disastrous exit from parliament. This is bad news for SLD and may bring the final chapter in the post-communist left saga, whereas for Together a promising perspective arises. A symptomatic change.