„WHEN TWO ARE FIGHTING THEN …” – 2010 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
IN POLAND. PERSONAL REFLECTIONS OF A POLITOLOGIST
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profesor nadzwyczajny w Szkole Wyższej Psychologii
Społecznej w Warszawie
Publication date: 2020-01-25
Studia Politologiczne 2011;19
ABSTRACT
The result of last presidential elections in Poland proves significantly to what
extent the symbolic arguments referring to the suddenly broken political mission
may be utilized as promoting factors for a given candidate. Without any doubts
such a phenomenon was demonstrated during the election campaign by growing
importance of Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the national-catholic Law and Justice
(PiS) political party and a twin-brother of Lech Kaczyński, former president, who
died tragically in the air crash near Smolensk in April 10, 2010. The leader of PiS
thanks his revitalized charisma and determination became an unexpected serious
rival for the Sejm speaker, Bronisław Komorowski, a candidate for presidency
on behalf of the Civic Platform (PO), a ruling liberal-conservative party. The
article’s author – as far as the efficiency of both candidates during the campaign
is concerned – represents the stance that Kaczyński lost his chance to be elected
president mostly because of too short period of the election campaign. On the
other hand Komorowski’s chances to become a head of state were maintained
not because of his contribution in the campaign, which was poor and inefficient.
He would not have been elected without the shift of election preferences from
the leftist voters on him, namely those who voted in the first election round for
Grzegorz Napieralski, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance.