Poland's post-election foreign policy - a turning point?

Poland’s autumn election followed the collapse of the coalition between the majority Law and Justice Party (PiS) and the Samoobrona Party and the League of Polish Families (LPR) two years before the end of the parliament’s four-year term. The resignation of the government came in the wake of accusations and counter-accusations between the coalition partners of corruption and unconstitutional behaviour. The short election campaign saw, in essence, a continuation of little more than the robust polemics between PiS and the Civic Platform (PO), the main opposition party during the government’s two years in office. The PiS-led
government’s foreign policy played a small part in the campaign, and what debate there was between the main contenders failed to reflect the electorate’s concerns over Poland’s continued involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as plans to site a US missile defence base in northern Poland. The election was fought on the government’s record in combatting corruption and saw a big mobilisation of voters on both sides of the political spectrum around this issue. High economic growth and declining unemployment during its entire term helped to buoy PiS’s support in the election. Ultimately, however, the contest1 was decided by an unprecedented
turnout of young people who voted to reject the government’s traditionalist domestic policies and inherent suspicion of the outside world.