Poland’s Ruling Party Wields Referendum to Mobilize Support

Natalia Ojewska
·3 min read
9
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s ruling party finalized a plan to hold a referendum that coincides with an election in October, potentially mobilizing base voters with politically charged questions on migration, state-asset sales and the retirement age.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A fourth question will ask voters whether Poland should dismantle a fence along the border with Belarus as the government deploys some 10,000 troops to the frontier to bolster security, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Monday. The ballot measure will have to be approved by lawmakers in Warsaw.

As the nationalist Law & Justice party struggles to expand its lead in the polls, which show it falling well short of a majority, Poland’s opposition under Donald Tusk derided the referendum plan as a ploy aimed at boosting turnout with polarizing questions. The referendum, which would require half of eligible voters to cast ballots in order for provisions to be approved, is slated to be held on Oct. 15 as voters elect a new parliament.

“Chutzpah, not a referendum”, Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska, a deputy leader of Poland’s opposition Civic Platform, said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “They arrange a spectacle by disclosing the questions, during which they attack the Civic Platform — and suggest the answers.”

The rollout of the ballot plan coincides with ever more strident language from Law & Justice leaders targeting Tusk. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the party’s powerful chief, on Friday called the opposition leader a German “embed” who would aim to sell off the state’s assets if he returned to office as prime minister. The comments came as Law & Justice said they would ask voters to agree on a ban of asset sales.

Tusk, the former European Council president, hasn’t discussed plans to privatize state companies.

Kaczynski intensified the line of attack against Tusk in an appearance at a military event in the town of Uniejow in central Poland, calling the opposition leader “pure evil.”

“Tusk is the personification of evil in Poland,” Kaczynski, who has overseen Law & Justice’s consolidation of power during two terms in office, told a crowd Monday.

Kaczynski has leveraged his power to go after Tusk. Legislation to set up a panel to investigate Russian interference in Poland — which would force Tusk to answer a battery of questions during an election campaign — triggered fierce criticism from the US and the European Union. It also helped draw almost a half a million demonstrators to the streets of Warsaw on June 4.

While Law & Justice has struggled to expand its base, it maintains a lead over Civic Platform. Backing for the party was at about 34%, with Civic Platform trailing with 28%, according to a July 20-23 survey by pollster Estymator.

Confederation, a hard-right alliance that’s also espoused a vision of small government, had 15% support — lifting the party to a potential kingmaker even it says it won’t form a coalition.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.