Poles go to the Polls
A Readout of the 2023 Polish Parliamentary Elections
October 15, 2023, parliamentary elections will be held in Poland. With polls predicting a close race, it is projected that the ruling Law and Justice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) won’t be able to continue governing without a coalition partner. The king-maker of the elections could be the far- right, anti-EU party Confederation (Konfederacja). The opposition doesn’t seem to be fairing much better, with polls indicating that the largest opposition party, Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelksa, PO), lead by former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, won’t manage to create a coalition government with other liberal-democratic parties. With the risk of Poland shifting farther to the right, European allies are closely watching the elections.
In this moderated discussion, our expert panelists will unpack the most pressing questions following the results of the election. Which parties will most likely form a coalition government? Which policy issues were the most decisive in the election? How might the relationship between Poland and its European allies, in particular with Germany, change following the results? How will key policy areas, such as Polish support for Ukraine, rule of law, and migration policy, be affected? What does the election mean for the broader far-right movements in Europe?
Speakers
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Zsuzsanna Végh, Researcher at European University Viadrina, Visiting Fellow at “The German Marshall Fund of the United States”
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Zosia Lutkiewicz (Virtual), President of “Fundacja Odpowiedzialna Polityka” (Political Accountability Foundation)
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Adam Traczyk, Director of “More in Common Poland” PhD Candidate, TU Chemnitz
Moderator: Johannes Kleinmann, PhD Candidate at VCPU, European University Viadrina RECET, University of Vienna, Junge DGO
The event will also be available online. Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtdu-qrjsrGdYfQAGaQVPi8s7JUEwEZUHH