Politics: Breaking up is easy to do

Poland's political left suffered a shake-up last week when the Democratic Party (PD) was ejected from the Left and Democrats (LiD) coalition by its larger partner, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD).

"There are fundamental differences between SLD and PD which cannot be overcome," the head of SLD, Wojciech Olejniczak, told the press. He said he wanted the LiD coalition to continue.

PD's leadership claimed it had not expected the breakup. "We were surprised," the head of PD Janusz Onyszkiewicz, told Tok FM radio. PD also feels that LiD should now change its name.

Founded in September 2006, LiD originally comprised the SLD, PD, Social Democracy of Poland (SDPL) and Labor Union (UP) parties. The coalition was created to improve the parties' chances of winning seats in local government elections. While proponents of the grouping portrayed it as a reconciliation between the former communists of SLD and former opposition activists of PD, many found the coalition morally dubious. In the 2007 parliamentary elections, LiD won 13.5-percent support in the vote.

A bad marriage

SLD's move was logical for a number of reasons, according to Marek Migalski, a political analyst from the University of Silesia. The disparity between the platforms of various coalition members made LiD's political stance unclear, he told WBJ. "Small parties should present a straightforward message," he concluded.

A bigger problem, however, was the fact that PD had fewer funds and a more regional character. The party was a burden to the coalition, Migalski stressed, adding that SLD often had to leave space on the election lists for PD members, getting little in exchange. This is technically true of the other two coalition members, as well. "If the coalition had not been formed, SLD would still have got the same number of votes as LiD in the last elections," he said.

Left behind

Without PD, SLD wants to move further left - focusing on ideology rather than on economic matters. This will include bringing up the issues of abortion, in-vitro fertilization, homosexuality and anti-Church sentiment, the experts interviewed by WBJ agreed. "SLD will drift towards the so-called 'New Left,'" professor Włodzimierz Marciniak of the Institute of Political Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences told WBJ.

At the same time, the party will appeal to its traditional electorate, which longs for the extensive welfare of the communist era, Migalski said. A part of this electorate could also turn to Law and Justice, as that party does have welfare postulates, Marciniak noted.

There seems little chance, however, that SLD will become a dominant political force again, at least not in the near future, since its liberal ideology will remain unpalatable for the conservative Polish society. "The party is not fighting for victory, but for survival," Marciniak said. Still, there's a chance for SLD to build up its position as a coalition partner, perhaps for PO, Migalski opined.

Meanwhile, support for PD will continue to wane. The party is doomed to extinction, both Migalski and Marciniak agreed.