Conservative PiS sweeps to power in historic landslide: 2015 election

 

data: Gazeta Wyborcza
data: Gazeta Wyborcza

The conservative Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) won a resounding victory in the Polish parliamentary elections, not only regaining power after 8 years in the minority under a Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO) – led government but also becoming the first party since Poland regained democracy in 1989 to achieve a majority without needing to form a coalition.

Gazeta Wyborcza is reporting that PiS netted 39.12% of the vote, with PO at only 23.41%. In another historic change, the Democratic Left Alliance (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, SLD), which had formed a coalition with other liberal factions, failed to win any seats at all for the first time.

With Beata Szydło replacing Ewa Kopacz as prime minister, PiS will have a lock on both the executive and legislature, a position it has says it may use to change the constitution as well as reverse some unpopular changes PO made, such as their raising of the retirement age.

The movement led by rock star-turned-presidential candidate Paweł Kukiz has come in third. Exit polls currently put right-leaning maverick Janusz Korwin-Mikke’s eponymous party at 4.9%, on the cusp of the 5% required to gain seats in the Parliament, with fledgling liberal party Together (Razem) came in at 3.9%, qualifying them for national funding.

4 thoughts on “Conservative PiS sweeps to power in historic landslide: 2015 election

  • October 26, 2015 at 6:38 am
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    Personally I don’t think it is good that PiS has an outright majority, given that their last period in government was fairly abysmal. The problem with the parties is that there is not much difference between the parties in terms of the quality of their MPs.

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    • November 2, 2015 at 4:14 pm
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      You silly man

      Reply
  • October 26, 2015 at 2:29 pm
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    However, on reflection they do have some interesting policies which are more pro family and also wanting to get more return from foreign-owned companies like Praktiker, Media-Markt and Biedronka that mahe huge profits out of the Polish consumer, 70% of which are repatriated to the corporates home countries. So, if they can fulfil on their election pledges they deserve a chance.

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  • October 26, 2015 at 7:36 pm
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    The government needs to think more about the needs of families. I think that PIS has the desire to do that. In regard to foreign businesses it is obvious to most that too may companies like to take out more than they have put in. Tusk was too buddy, buddy with the Germans. Crooked banks with the Libor rates, crooked engineering and telecommunication firms like Siemens which the Greeks helped to expose. I also think about the EU complaining about pollution in Polish cities but the EU never stopped the German and the French in part from exporting these second cars never mind, the cheating new ones from a company like VW. Frankly I wish the EU has honest testing in the past but chose otherwise, the cities like Warsaw would be much cleaner and health costs for the young and old would be much lower. How many maybe bought a car legally that might not be allowed back into Berlin for example?

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