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'Social Poland' defeats 'liberal Poland'?: the September-October 2005 Polish parliamentary and presidential elections

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 21:35 authored by Aleks SzczerbiakAleks Szczerbiak
The 2005 Polish parliamentary and presidential elections were held on separate days, but the two campaigns ‘contaminated’ each other and the presidential contest largely overshadowed the parliamentary. The dominant issue during much of the campaign was probity in public life, and parties competed on their ability to tackle corruption effectively. The conservative Law and Justice party and its presidential candidate Lech Kaczynski emerged as unexpected winners by framing the contest as choice of a ‘social-solidaristic’ or a ‘liberal’ vision of Poland. The underlying ideological divisions between Polish parties appear to be in some flux, as do the social bases of their support, and a realignment of the dimensions of party competition is one possible outcome. However, this apparent ‘social versus liberal’ dichotomy will not necessarily provide a long-term basis for political alignments in the country, and the old ‘post-communist’ historical and cultural divide apparently remains a significant orientation point for a substantial number of voters.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics

ISSN

1352-3279

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Issue

2

Volume

23

Page range

203-232

Department affiliated with

  • Politics Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2015-07-13

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