On Sunday, October 13, 2019, Poland will hold parliamentary elections. According to current polls, the ruling social conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) is close to another landslide victory on the back of a polarizing campaign based on cultural and identity issues, as well as direct social transfers to citizens. But whether or not the PiS can again form a one-party government mainly depends on two factors: whether it can also mobilize moderate voters who helped them win the European elections last May, and on which of the smaller opposition parties makes it over the five percent threshold to enter the Sejm. As recent European and local elections showed, a deep divide exists between socially conservative rural voters and socially liberal voters in larger urban areas.
At this public event, our guest speakers will discuss how the election results will affect Poland’s influence and policies on the EU level, as well as their likely implications for bilateral German-Polish relations. We will also consider the extent of the EU’s role in the campaigns, and if and how voters took this European dimension into account. Lastly, the panel will debate what the outcome suggests for Poland’s next presidential elections to be held before mid-2020.
Speakers:
Michał Szułdrzyński
Deputy editor-in-chief of the Polish newspaper ‘Rzeczpospolita’
Dr. Jana Puglierin
Head of DGAP’s Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies
Sławomir Sierakowski
Senior fellow at DGAP; founder of the Krytyka Polityczna movement in Poland
Chair:
Milan Nič
Head of DGAP’s Robert Bosch Center for Central and
Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asi