Results of the European Parliament Elections in Poland

Abstract

The European Parliament (EP) elections, held in Poland on 25 May 2014, were the first nationwide elections since October 2011. They also opened a new, 18-month election period, including the local government elections (November 2014), presidential election (May 2015) and parliament elections (October 2015). Therefore, the main parties in the political scene treated them very seriously, seeing them as a chance to determine their real political power. Election rivalry proceeded on two different levels. For Civic Platform [Platforma Obywatelsk: PO] and for Law and Justice [Prawo i Sprawiedliwość: PiS], winning this election was a matter of prestige. The main party of the governing coalition wanted to confirm their dominance, despite the defeat in the 2013 by-elections and falling support in the polls. For Law and Justice, after losing six elections in a row, victory in the EP elections was supposed to be the first step towards regaining power in Poland. For other Polish political parties these elections were a fight for survival. The Democratic Left Alliance [Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej: SLD]—entering these elections in a coalition with another left-wing party, not present in the Polish parliament, Labour United [Unia Pracy: UP], and the Polish People’s Party [Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe: PSL], wanted to maintain their status among the parties that safely exceed the electoral threshold. However, for new political initiatives, such as the centre-left coalition Europe Plus–Your Movement (including former SLD Members of the EP, in conflict with their old party and Janusz Palikot’s party), Solidarity Poland (politicians previously connected with Law and Justice, with their leader Zbigniew Ziobro, former justice minister in Jarosław Kaczyński’s government), Poland Together, New Right and the National Movement, the EP elections were a chance to emerge onto the Polish political scene.