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League and Self-Defense
Liga i Samoobrona
AbbreviationLiS[2]
LeaderAndrzej Lepper[3]
Roman Giertych[3]
PresidiumRadosław Parda
Mirosław Orzechowski
Wojciech Wierzejski
Genowefa Wiśniowska
Krzysztof Sikora
Founded16 July 2007[4]
Registered17 July 2007[3]
Dissolved7 September 2007[4]
Merger ofSelf-Defence of the Republic of Poland
League of Polish Families
HeadquartersAl. Jerozolimskie 30, 00-024 Warsaw[5]
(Samoobrona)
ul. Hoża 9, 00-528 Warsaw[6]
(League of Polish Families)
Membership (2003)~100,000[7]
(Samoobrona)
~12,000[8]
(League of Polish Families)
IdeologyAnti-capitalism[9]
Solidarist economy[10]
Catholic nationalism[11]
National agrarianism[12]
Left-wing populism[11]
Hard Euroscepticism[1]
Political positionLeft-wing[13][A]
League of Polish Families:
Far-right[14]
Samoobrona:
Far-left[15]
ReligionRoman Catholic[11]
Colours  Orange[1]
(customary)
  Yellow
(Samoobrona)
  Blue
(League of Polish Families)
SloganStrong as a lion, cunning as a fox
(Template:Lang-pl)[10]
Sejm
0 / 460
Senate
0 / 100
European Parliament
0 / 51
Regional assemblies
0 / 552
City presidents
0 / 117
^ A: League and Self-Defense was a combination of a far-left and a far-right party, although the dominance of left-wing elements, especially on economic issues, was noted.[9][16] The coalition was also described as "not very right-wing".[17]
Politics of Poland
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Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
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Related topics

League and Self-Defense (Template:Lang-pl, LiS — lis also means fox in Polish) was a short-lived Polish political alliance between the left-wing populist Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland (Samoobrona) and the national conservative Christian right League of Polish Families (LPR) in July 2007. The alliance was directed against right-wing populist Law and Justice (PiS) that first formed a coalition with both parties, but then gradually marginalized them and shuffled away their ministers.[4] The coalition was marked by mutual distrust as the parties had radically different outlooks, tied together by Euroscepticism, opposition to capitalism and aversion to PiS.[18] The coalition was only polling 6% (below the 8% threshold for coalitions), and was dissolved by September 2007, shortly before the election. In the 2007 Polish parliamentary election, both LPR and Samoobrona failed to reach the 5% electoral threshold, losing all their 92 Sejm and 10 Senate seats.[4] The downfall of both parties is considered to have been caused by PiS appropiating their political rhetoric.[19]

Despite being a coalition of a far-left Samoobrona and a far-right LPR, League and Self-Defense produced a coherent program that emphasized the common points of both parties, such as their opposition to the European Union, NATO, the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan. Both parties also shared a voter base that wished for the return of security of the socialist welfare state and protection from the risks of open markets. This allowed the coalition to position itself as anti-capitalist.[9] The coalition had a basic social program based on "protection of life from the moment of conception until natural death", anti-corruption and "zero tolerance" reforms for schools. Economically, the coalition sought a halt to privatization, empowering trade unions and greatly expanding welfare, social pensions and the minimum wage, as well as tackling foreign capital and big business.[1]

History

The decision for the synthesis of the two parties arose following a crisis within Poland's ruling three party coalition, of the dominant Law and Justice (PiS) party, and junior partners Samoobrona and LPR. On 9 July, the leader of Samoobrona, Andrzej Lepper, was dismissed from his position as Minister for Agriculture following a secret investigation by the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) which attempted to link him and his department to corruptive practices. Lepper protested his innocence and claimed to have been the victim of a politically motivated 'sting' operation, initiated by PM Kaczynski and PiS. He demanded that a parliamentary inquiry be conducted to investigate the legality and motivation of the CBA operation mounted against him.[10]

Following his dismissal, Lepper participated in numerous conferences in which he accused Law and Justice politicians of illegal actions. He also filed a denunciation lawsuit against the minister coordinator of services Zbigniew Wassermann, while also stating that the head of the Central Anticorruption Bureau, Mariusz Kamiński, broke the law by initiating the sting operation against him. He lastly attacked the leader of Law and Jutice and prime minister Jarosław Kaczyński of "unbelievable cynicism", as Kaczyński had long talks with Lepper about the future of the coalition, knowing that he would soon dismiss him.[10]

Lepper's stance drew him support from his own Samoobrona party and the LPR. On 16 July 2007, a merger of the two parties was announced at a press conference conducted by Lepper and his LPR counterpart, Roman Giertych. The nature of this new 'LiS' was not made clear, and the leaders could not give any specifics as to whether LiS would take the form of a newly unified party or simply an electoral alliance of two autonomous parties. It was indicated however, that the platform of this new alliance would be mainly eurosceptic and anti-privatization.[1]

According to the declarations of both parties involved, the new grouping would preserve the identity of both parties.[2] On the creation of the new party, Lepper stressed that "great injustie has been done to Samoobrona" and that one of the demands of the new grouping will be to investigate the circumstances regarding the sting operation against him.[20] On 16 July 2007, the presidencies of both political groupings met. On 17 July 2007, the party's executive board was appointed, with Andrzej Lepper as president and Roman Giertych as chairman. On the same day, the documents for the registration of the new party were filed with the court. Party board members from the LPR included Radosław Parda, Deputy Education Minister Mirosław Orzechowski, Deputy Leader of the League Wojciech Wierzejski, while from the side of Samoobrona, board members included Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Genowefa Wiśniowska and acting head of the club Krzysztof Sikora.[3]

After the formation of the League and Self-Defense, Law and Justice began making demands that both Samoobrona and LPR withdraw from the idea of setting up a commission to investigate the CBA action, after which Andrzej Lepper lost his deputy prime minister's seat. Law and Justice then started replacing the ministers of the parties in the government, stripping LPR and Samoobrona of influential positions such as labour ministry ad minister of agriculture. The government lost a lot of support, especially since it also abolished ministries created specificially for the LPR and Samoobrona, such as the ministry of maritime economy and the ministry of construction. Law and Justice defended the dismissals as "these were routine resignations unrelated to politics", but the media attacked the party for nepotism.[21]

The reaction to the coalition within both parties were mixed, with the more radical members of LPR objecting to forming a coalition with a left-wing party; others admitted the idea of a temporary alliance, but feared integration.[10] Some members within the party nevertheless praised the idea and claimed that they got along, especially stressing the "pro-social" stance of both groups, especially when referring to the shared opposition to privatization and deregulation measures.[22]

However, from the very beginning, relations between the leaders of the two groupings were marked by a high degree of distrust, and Lepper himself admitted that the coalition was situational and tactical in nature, calculated to strengthen both groupings in the eyes of the largest coalition partner. Cooperation with the LPR resulted in Samoobrona's acceptance of a proposal to table a constructive vote of no-confidence with J. Kaczmarek's candidacy for prime minister, which was Giertych's idea. As it turned out, it did not produce the expected results and the idea was soon finally abandoned.[18]

Polls gave the coalition grouping LiS 6% support, which was insufficient to pass the 8% electoral threshold for coalition groupings. As a result, on 7 September 2007. Roman Giertych and Andrzej Lepper announced the end of the concept of the League and Self-Defence; this had to do with the opposition of the MPs of the League of Polish Families and their demand that the joint lists of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland should not include people with legal problems or burdened by moral scandals. By early September it was clear that LiS would not arise. The membership of the two parties had not been properly consulted as to their support for this idea, and the merits of the proposition had not been discussed. Many of the members of both groups saw little common ground between the two parties. Furthermore, opinion polls did not necessarily reflect that there was a significant advantage to an alliance. LPR and Samoobrona therefore decided to start independently of each other at the early 21 October legislative elections.[4]

After the coalition was cancelled, Samoobrona moved even further to the left and invited left-wing activists the party, such as Leszek Miller and a socialist Piotr Ikonowicz.[23] In response, LPR condemned its erstwhile coalition partner, accusing Samoobrona of cooperating with "communist apparatchiks".[24] LPR joined forces with Real Politics Union and Right of the Republic to form a new alliance called League of the Right of the Republic (Liga Prawicy Rzeczypospolitej). Elections were held on 21 October 2007, in which the LPR Committee received 209,171 or 1.30% of the vote and did not enter parliament. Polls gave the party a slightly higher support of 3 per cent.[4] After losing all their seats in the 2007 election, neither Samoobrona nor LPR regained political relevance. Andrzej Lepper died in August 2011 in unclear circumstances, with some ruling it as assassination and others as suicide.[25] The Central Anticorruption Bureau, responsible for the unlawful sting operation against Lepper that ultimately ended his political career, grew unpopular and was disbanded in March 2024.[26]

Election results

Sejm

Election year # of
votes 		% of
vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/– Government
2007 456,506[a] 2.8[b] (#5)
0 / 460
 Decrease 92[c] Extra-parliamentary
Ultimately, Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland and League of Polish Families ran independently of each other.

Senate

Election year # of
votes 		% of
vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/– Government
2007 638,716[d] 3.0[e] (#5)
0 / 100
 Decrease 10[f] Extra-parliamentary
Ultimately, Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland and League of Polish Families ran independently of each other.

Program

The main objectives of the coalition were to create a commission of inquiry into the Central Anticorruption Bureau and its operations, blocking the ratification of the European Union reform treaty that both members of the coalition were opposed to, stop the privatization process and "strengthen the constitutional protection of life", which would include introducing additional restrictions on abortion.[27] Both Samoobrona and LPR stressed opposition to the European Union as one of the main goals of the party, as both parties did not accept the EU Reform Treaty.[1]

Both parties were deeply opposed to the introduction of the Euro currency in Poland and also questioned the rule of supremacy of the EU law over the Polish one. According to League and Self-Defence, the European Union pursues centralization reforms that will lead to "transformation of the Union into a super-state". The coalition speculated that the European Union might plan to introduce the position of an EU president and a foreign minister, which would overrule the policy of individual member states in favor of enforcing one-for-all rulings. Both parties also agreed on their opposition to NATO, and strongly opposed the presence of Polish troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, calling for immediate withdrawal.[1] League and Self-Defense also sought to improve Polish relations with Russia.[22]

On social issues, League and Self-Defense stressed its anti-corruption stance and referred to the unlawful actions of the Central Anticorruption Bureau that led to the collapse of the PiS-LPR-Samoobrona coalition. The coalition pledged to ensure that special services and authorities in Poland will behave in legal manner. The coalition also proposed to guarantee protection of life from the moment of conception until natural death, as well as an extensive education reform that would introduce "zero tolerance" program for violence and bullying at school. League and Self-Defense also postulated the foundation of a special investigative unit that would persecute and punish individuals and companies for lobbying.[1]

Economically, League of Self-Defense called itself "solidarist", and envisioned a "solidarist state" that would be based on the principles of Catholic corporatism.[10] The coalition called itself "pro-social" and was distinguished by its strong hostility towards privatization, which it combined with a proposal to greatly limit foreign capital in Poland and ban foreign individuals from buying Polish companies.[22] The coalition supported trade unions and strikes, also stressing its support for the health service employees' protest that took place in Poland in 2007, postulated a sharp rise of social pensions and the minimum wage. It also sought to diversify energy supply and develop biofuel production in Poland, which it saw as an opportunity for Polish agriculture to modernize, combined with agrarian protectionist measures and generous subsidies for Polish farmers.[1]

Explaining its concept of solidarist economy, the coalition declared: "Our program meets these expectations. It contains important elements hitherto overlooked and ignored by neo-liberal decision-makers. It is a clear programme providing social security for the most vulnerable social groups, giving hope for stabilisation and harmony. It is an incisive programme providing social security for the most vulnerable social groups, giving hope for stabilisation and harmonious development of our country." League and Self-Defense condemned the last 16 years (1991-2007) of economic policies, describing it as neoliberal and capitalist. Solidarist economy, according to LiS, was based on the protection of the poorest and the weakest, as well as disempowering and redistributing the wealth of the rich, which the coalition perceived as corrupt and greedy.[19]

The coalition referred to itself as "national agrarian" and "people's national", as to stress the right-wing character of LPR as well as the agrarian and leftist nature of Samoobrona.[12] The coalition itself was considered "not very right-wing" by Polish media despite the presence of LPR in it, who noted the far-reaching criticism of privatization process in Poland and a clearly left-wing economic program.[17] The coalition wanted to build a "vast national popular movement".[28] Samoobrona was considered a "peasant-left" and a far-left[29] party that sought to look after the rural voters, combined with agrarian socialist demands and an ambition to represent people who struggle financially.[30] League of Polish Families was a far-right[14] party described as Catholic nationalist.[11]

Samoobrona positioned itself as strongly anti-neoliberal and ran to the far-left, much left than the social-democratic and post-communist Democratic Left Alliance.[16] While this threatened the stability of the (ultimately short-lived coalition), it also gave it a discernible left-wing populist leaning. Polish sociologist Andrzej Rychard noted that the coalition was ultimately anti-capitalist and economy-oriented, as the voters of both parties shared longing for the security of the socialist welfare state and protection from the risks of open markets.[9] LiS responded to this not only through its anti-capitalist rhetoric, but also through its proposals such as higher pensions and minimum wage and special subsidies for the unemployed and subsidies for agriculture.[31] The coalition also mixed in nationalist rhetoric, proposing a bill that would severely limit foreign land ownership and capital in Poland, especially the German one.[32]

In the coalition, Samoobrona centered the electoral message of League and Self-Defense on 'human dignity', which Samoobrona aspired to portray itself as its guardian. Despite the presence of League of Polish Families in the coalition, Samoobrona created an image of a left-wing identity for the party, running to the left of the electoral alliance the Left and Democrats and representing the people in need of state support in economic and social terms. Political pundits observed that the Samoobrona tried to maintain its image as an agrarian party representing rural environments, while also affirming its far-left identity and attracting far-left voters. League of Polish Families left the economic imagery to Samoobrona and tried to 'complete' the coalition's image by stressing the importane of tradition, Catholic values and patriotism. LPR appealed directly to PiS voters through law-and-order and anti-corruption rhetoric.[33] German magazine Stern noted the dominating role of Lepper, which it called "Polish Hugo Chávez" and described his ideology as "populist mixture of socialism and nationalism." Describing his decision to create the LiS coalition, Stern described it as risky, but noted the potential of his rhetoric, writing that Lepper "shouts out loud what the poor and frustrated only dare to whisper."[34]

In August 2007, Centre for Public Opinion Research surveyed the LiS electorate (election forecast - 6%). The electorate of this coalition was of various ages, with the 35-44 age group being relatively the most numerous (10%). The coalition found the greatest acceptance primarily among residents of rural areas and small towns (up to 20,000 inhabitants). The specificity of this group in terms of education and professional profile was clear - more often people with primary education, unskilled workers and farmers, most often working on private farms. A large overrepresentation (in relation to the election forecast) was recorded in the group of housewives (as many as 17% of all housewives). LiS voters are those who declare rather active (1-2 times a month) participation in religious practices (10%).[35] Less than half of the electorate allowed voting for the parties that make up LiS (Samoobrona's negative electorate - 55%, LPR - 46%). The position of both parties in this context has deteriorated significantly over several months.[36]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Samoobrona - 247,335;
    League of Polish Families - 209,171.
  2. ^ Samoobrona - 1.53%;
    League of Polish Families - 1.30%.
  3. ^ Samoobrona lost 56 seats, while League of Polish Families lost 34.
  4. ^ Samoobrona - 345,427;
    League of Polish Families - 293,289.
  5. ^ Samoobrona - 1.06%;
    League of Polish Families - 0.90%.
  6. ^ Samoobrona lost 3 seats, while League of Polish Families lost 7.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "LPR i Samoobrona razem jako LiS". wp.pl (in Polish). 16 July 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Koalicja rządowa trwa, powstaje nowa partia Liga i Samoobrona". parkiet.com (in Polish). 16 July 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d "Powołano zarząd LiS-u". wprost.pl (in Polish). 17 July 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Płoski, Marcin (2016). Liga Polskich Rodzin jako aktor społeczny (in Polish). Wrocław. p. 105. ISBN 978-83-63322-28-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ "Informacje o Komitecie Wyborczym" (in Polish). Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. 2007.
  6. ^ "Informacje o Komitecie Wyborczym" (in Polish). Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. 2007.
  7. ^ Zagner, Agnieszka (22 February 2003). "Kombajn Samoobrona". polityka.pl (in Polish).
  8. ^ Paszkiewicz, Krystyna (2004). Partie i koalicje III Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. p. 62.
  9. ^ a b c d Pallokat, Jan (16 July 2007). "Polens Politschauspiel". dw.com (in German).
  10. ^ a b c d e f Szacki, Wojciech; Grochal, Renata (16 July 2007). "Co LiS zrobi PiS?". wyborcza.pl (in Polish).
  11. ^ a b c d Chatzistavrou, Filippa (December 2010). "Early preferences of national political parties in the EU for Turkey's accession". Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. 10 (4). Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP): 403. doi:10.1080/14683857.2010.529991. ISSN 1468-3857.
  12. ^ a b "Lepper i Giertych kontra PiS". interia.pl (in Polish). 14 July 2007.
  13. ^ Vlastimil Havlik; Anete Pinkova (2012). Populist Political Parties in East-Central Europe. Masaryk University Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-8021061057.
  14. ^ a b "Regierungskrise: Kaczynskis fordern Neuwahlen". fokus.de (in German). 12 November 2007.
  15. ^ Agata Górny; Aleksandra Grzymała-Kazłowska; Piotr Koryś; Agnieszka Weinar (December 2003). "Multiple citizenship in Poland" (PDF). Prace Migracyjne. 53 (1). Institute for Social Studies Warsaw University: 45. We did not consider the populist far-left (Samoobrona) and the nationalistic far right wing (LPR) nor the Polish Peasants' Party: PSL. There were many reasons for such a decision. None of the two extreme parties had representatives in the parliament of the 3rd term, when the debate over citizenship reached its peak.
  16. ^ a b Rae, Gavin (2008). Poland's Return to Capitalism: From the Socialist Bloc to the European Union. I.B. Tauris. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-84511-474-9.
  17. ^ a b "Nie było LiS-a...zapomniał". salon24.pl (in Polish). 27 June 2010.
  18. ^ a b Mateusz Piskorski [in Polish] (2010). Samoobrona RP w polskim systemie partyjnym (in Polish) (Dissertation ed.). Poznań: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. p. 172.
  19. ^ a b Figiel, Agnieszka (2009). Języki IV RP: Podziały społeczno-polityczne w dyskursie polityki (in Polish). Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Społecznych UaM. p. 110-111. ISBN 978-83-929763-0-1.
  20. ^ "Lepper: Samoobrona w koalicji, powstaje nowa partia". pb.pl (in Polish). 16 July 2007.
  21. ^ "Samoobrona i Liga przełkną upokorzenie". wp.pl (in Polish). 28 August 2007.
  22. ^ a b c "Piskorski i Chruszcz o LiS". gazeta.pl (in Polish). 17 July 2007.
  23. ^ Mateusz Piskorski [in Polish] (2010). Samoobrona RP w polskim systemie partyjnym (in Polish) (Dissertation ed.). Poznań: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. p. 173.
  24. ^ Kolczyński, Mariusz; Mazur, Marek (2009). Broń masowego wrażenia. Kampania wyborcza 2007 r. w Polsce (in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe. p. 174. ISBN 978-83-7059-902-7.
  25. ^ Izabela Kacprzak (27 December 2012). "Jak upadał Andrzej Lepper". rp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  26. ^ Kacprzak, Izabela (19 March 2024). "Centralne Biuro Antykorupcyjne przechodzi do historii. Rząd chce uzdrowić służbę". rp.pl (in Polish).
  27. ^ "Liga i Samoobrona". interia.pl (in Polish).
  28. ^ Pellen, Cédric (2010). "Sociologie d'un groupement politique illégitime. Le mouvement Samoobrona (Autodéfense) en Pologne (1991-2010)" (PDF). Science politique (in French). 4. Université de Bordeaux; Université Montesquieu-Bordeaux: 552.
  29. ^ Krzysztof Jasiewicz; Agnieszka Jasiewicz-Betkiewicz (2007). "Poland". European Journal of Political Research. 46 (6–7). European Consortium for Political Research: 1069. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.2007.00752.x. In its public statements, Self-Defense has been critical (often harshly) of the legacies of both communism and Solidarity, yet among its leaders there are several individuals formerly associated with the communist regime. Its support for state interventionism and opposition to market mechanisms place it on the political far left.
  30. ^ Wojtkielewicz, Wojciech (19 July 2007). "LiS jest pospolitym zdrajcą". poranny.pl (in Polish).
  31. ^ Schuller, Konrad (16 July 2007). "„Wir wollen den EU-Vertrag verhindern"". faz.net (in German). Warsaw.
  32. ^ Wojciechowska, Joanna (18 July 2007). "LiS zapowiada obronę polskiej ziemi". gazeta.pl (in Polish). Olsztyn.
  33. ^ Kolczyński, Mariusz; Mazur, Marek (2009). Broń masowego wrażenia. Kampania wyborcza 2007 r. w Polsce (in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-83-7059-902-7.
  34. ^ Wos, Rafal (20 July 2007). "Der polnische Chavez". stern.de (in German).
  35. ^ Kolczyński, Mariusz; Mazur, Marek (2009). Broń masowego wrażenia. Kampania wyborcza 2007 r. w Polsce (in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe. p. 32. ISBN 978-83-7059-902-7.
  36. ^ Kolczyński, Mariusz; Mazur, Marek (2009). Broń masowego wrażenia. Kampania wyborcza 2007 r. w Polsce (in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe. p. 29. ISBN 978-83-7059-902-7.
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