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Electoral politics in Poland: the parliamentary elections of 1997

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 09:01 authored by Aleks SzczerbiakAleks Szczerbiak
The Polish parliamentary election of September 1997 demonstrated the further consolidation of democracy in the years since the fall of communist rule. On a fairly low poll, the governing centre-left coalition was defeated by a new coalition of parties and groupings from the previously deeply fragmented right. The number of parties and groupings was significantly down on previous elections, with only five winning parliamentary seats. The winner was Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS), which ran a very effective campaign, providing a clear focus for opposition to the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), a communist-successor formation. AWS won by invoking the idea of 'completing the Solidarity revolution' interrupted in the leftward swing of 1993 and competing against a misconceived and complacent campaign by the SLD whose coalition partner, the Polish Peasant Party (PSL), was punished for failing to 'deliver' to its core rural electorate. The election also halted the decline of the liberal Freedom Union (UW) following a dynamic, presidential-style campaign focusing on its leader and author of the post-communist reforms, Leszek Balcerowicz.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics

ISSN

13523279

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Issue

3

Volume

143

Page range

58-83

ISBN

1352-3279

Department affiliated with

  • Politics Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

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