{"id":2485,"date":"2023-09-05T16:21:14","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T15:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/diced\/?p=2485"},"modified":"2023-10-13T13:21:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T12:21:57","slug":"the-fourth-week-of-election-campaign-in-poland-30-august-5-september-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/diced\/2023\/09\/05\/the-fourth-week-of-election-campaign-in-poland-30-august-5-september-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"The fourth week of election campaign in Poland (30 August-5 September 2023)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The fourth week of the campaign was dominated by Law and Justice\u2019s reshuffle of candidate lists and mildly controversial speeches by the opposition leaders at Campus Poland. In election polls, the governing party maintains a clear lead but lacks a majority to govern without the help of the Confederacy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 1st of September marks the end of summer holidays for schools and the anniversary of Hitler\u2019s invasion of Poland in 1939. However, this year, the day marked the beginning of the decisive phase of the election campaign. In the final days of August, the media were still digesting Law and Justice\u2019s decision to place Jaros\u0142aw Kaczy\u0144ski as a candidate in the city of Kielce and the Civic Coalition\u2019s response of putting the ultraconservative-turned-liberal Roman Giertych as Kaczy\u0144ski\u2019s arch-nemesis in the same district.<\/p>\n

The approaching registration deadline for the candidate lists forced the parties to finally unveil their candidates in all voting districts. Law and Justice made a splash again as the decision to place the party leader in Kielce created a domino effect. A politician who was previously the list headliner there was moved to another district, which, in turn, forced the party to move the previous list leader there to yet another district and so on. While local party structures were very unhappy about the countrywide parachuting festival, some commentators appreciated the reshuffle as it optimizes Law and Justice\u2019s chances to win additional seats.<\/p>\n

Another type of festival, with opposition leaders lining up to take the stage, took place at Rafa\u0142 Trzaskowski\u2019s Campus Poland of the Future. Although it should be considered a Civic Coalition event, the organizers – who previously canceled the \u201cSymmetrists Panel\u201d – invited the Third Way\u2019s W\u0142adys\u0142aw Kosiniak-Kamysz and Szymon Ho\u0142ownia, as well as the Left\u2019s Robert Biedro\u0144 and W\u0142odzimierz Czarzasty. A minor controversy was caused by Ho\u0142ownia who refused to support same-sex marriages which was not appreciated by the liberal audience. The Campus concluded with the debate between Trzaskowski and Donald Tusk. Trzaskowski, who is 51 years old, is considered to be the face of the Civic Platform\u2019s younger generation. Tusk, at 66, still has a good rapport with young voters and is not eager to loosen his grip as the party leader. It says much about the debate that its most entertaining part was the questions from the audience, with one female attendee offering a long self-promoting speech before asking Tusk about what he has to offer to such talented young people as herself.<\/p>\n

Online activities:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since September 4th, Law and Justice has been utilizing a #KonkretyPiS hashtag to promote specific issues from their program. The first two promises have been the \u201cFriendly Estate\u201d program of refurbishment and modernization of communist-era concrete housing blocks and the improvement of the quality of hospital meals. The hashtag was immediately used by the opposition and critical journalists to question Law and Justice’s policies. Civic Coalition responded to the \u201cFriendly Estate\u201d promise with Facebook ads that remind people of the party\u2019s record in building new houses. On YouTube, the Civic Coalition campaign is more negative, as the party continues to publish short videos with the contents of leaked emails read by AI.<\/p>\n

In the polls:<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to recent polls, Law and Justice would receive 35.3% of the votes. Civic Coalition is second with 27.5%, and the three smaller parties would get around 10% each. The trends seem to favour the governing party, which either maintains or gains support in the polls. Civic Coalition is consistently losing a few percentage points in each new poll. The Confederacy becomes<\/p>\n

In other news:<\/strong><\/p>\n