Poland’s Far Right Is Distorting the Debate on Welfare — and Winning
Ahead of his reelection on Sunday, Polish president Andrzej Duda claimed that “LGBT ideology” was a threat “worse than Soviet communism.” Together with his homophobic offensive, Duda successfully played on Poles’ fears over the economy — fusing a reactionary culture war with the promise to defend families’ benefits.
Polish president Andrzej Duda, backed by the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS), celebrates with supporters following initial election results during Poland’s runoff on July 12, 2020 in Pultusk, Poland. Maja Hitij / Getty
The Polish presidential election reached its decisive second round on July 12, as incumbent Andrzej Duda faced off against Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski. While Duda’s hard-right Law and Justice Party has dominated Polish politics in recent years, he ultimately edged out the more moderate-conservative Trzaskowksi by a narrow 51 to 49 percent margin.
The result sparked dismay in most international media. In addition to Polish authorities’ clashes with the European Union over the independence of the judiciary, the campaign was marred by Duda’s harsh attacks on LGBT Poles and the use of the state broadcaster as a mouthpiece for the ruling party. Some even fear an irreversible drift away from liberal democracy.
Aside from its culture-war offensive against minorities, Law and Justice’s support has also been widely attributed to its record of providing benefits payments and its apparent welfarist agenda. Yet as sociologist Maciej Gdula notes, its cash transfers to families themselves obey a privatizing logic, where direct payments replace the provision of guaranteed services.
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