Presidential elections were formally held in Poland on Sunday, May 10, 2020, but in practice no election took place and no ballots were cast. The distinction between what happens formally and what takes place in practice has become more and more important for Polish politics and public life.
By
Jaakko Turunen
May 19, 2020
To understand the election results and its implications it is necessary to distinguish two different layers of Polish politics. At the visible surface of politics, the battle takes places between the two dominant parties, PiS and PO. However, at a “deeper lever”, both parties struggle to react to global challenges, but they do so in diametrically different manners. Whether PO or PiS in government, the past years of Polish politics has seen a steadily growing realisation that politics at the national level becomes increasingly difficult.
By
Jaakko Turunen
November 4, 2019
in October, the parliamentary elections took place and PiS got a landslide victory and a singlehanded majority in both chamber of the Polish parliament, the Lower House Sejm and the Upper House Senate. Polish and foreign press alike have been alarmed of the election results in Poland. PiS's main policy concerns are domestic and Polish politicians have long been more value conservative than society at large.
By
Jaakko Turunen
November 5, 2015
Poland went to presidential elections. The first round took place on May 10th and the second May 24th. The opposition candidate from the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) Andrzej Duda won both rounds.
By
Jaakko Turunen
June 9, 2015