Polls & Research

Civic Platform Remains Dominant in Poland

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Half of adults in Poland support the governing party, according to a poll by PBS DGA published in Gazeta Wyborcza. 52 per cent of respondents would back the Civic Platform (PO) in the next general election.

The opposition Law and Justice Party (PiS) is second with 27 per cent, followed by the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) with seven per cent, and the Peasant’s Party (PSL) with four per cent.

In October 2007, Polish voters renewed the Diet, or lower house of Parliament. Final results gave the PO 41.51 per cent of the vote and 209 seats, followed by the PiS with 32.11 per cent and 166 seats. In November, the PO and the PSL—who together hold 240 seats in the 460-member Diet—agreed to form a coalition government. PO leader Donald Tusk was sworn in as prime minister.

In Poland, the definition of presidential powers declares that the head of state is the "guardian of Polish sovereignty and security" who "co-operates" with the government. Prime minister Tusk suggested in 2008 that Polish president Lech Kaczynski—whose twin brother Jaroslaw leads the opposition PiS—is overstepping his role.

On Dec. 31, Tusk expressed satisfaction with his tenure so far, saying, "2008 was certainly the year of positive changes. Over the last 12 or 13 years, more and more bureaucratic limitations were imposed. We were the first to reverse this tendency. On the one hand I think that Poles are glad that it was more calm and that politics acquired a more normal expression, on the other hand they expected much more."

Polling Data

What party would you support in the next election?

	Dec. 2008	Nov. 2008	Oct. 2008
Civic Platform (PO)	52%	52%	48%
Law and Justice Party (PiS)	27%	25%	28%
Democratic Left Alliance (SLD)	7%	6%	7%
Peasant’s Party (PSL)	4%	7%	7%

Source: PBS DGA / Gazeta Wyborcza
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,022 Polish adults, conducted from Dec. 5 to Dec. 7, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.