Poland Government Structure and Political Parties
Poland is a member of both the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Its government is comprised of executive, legislative, and judicial branches and is a democratic, unified state, with a variety of political parties and alliances. This article looks at the structure of the Polish government and introduces some of the main political parties and coalitions.
Executive Branch of Poland Government
The executive branch of the Polish government is made up of the President and the Prime Minister. The president is the head of state, responsible for making sure that the law is obeyed, and appointing the prime minister. The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The Prime Minister is the head of government, responsible for the daily administration of the country. The prime minister is appointed by the president and must be approved by the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament.
Legislative Branch of Poland Government
The legislative branch of the Polish government is comprised of the Sejm and the Senate. The Sejm, or lower house, is composed of 460 members, elected for a four-year term by popular vote. The Sejm is responsible for passing laws, approving the budget and appoints the prime minister and cabinet members. The Senate, or upper house, is composed of 100 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation. The Senate is responsible for ratifying international treaties and approving the Prime Minister’s appointments for the Judicial branch.
Judicial Branch of Poland Government
The judicial branch of the Polish government is composed of the Supreme Court, regional courts and local courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country and is responsible for interpreting the law and examining cases concerning constitutional issues. The regional courts, also known as voivèdes, are responsible for hearing appeals against decisions made by the local courts. The local courts are responsible for hearing civil and criminal cases.
Political Parties in Poland
Poland has a wide variety of political parties, ranging from left-wing to right-wing. Here is a look at some of the main parties:
• Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS): This right-wing party is the ruling party in Poland, having been in power since the 2015 elections. It is a populist and conservative party, pro-business, socially conservative, and Eurosceptic.
• Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO): This centrist party is currently the largest opposition party in Poland. It is socially progressive, pro-EU, and centre-right on economic matters.
• Polish People’s Party (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL): This agrarian, centre-right party is one of the oldest active political parties in Poland. It is socially conservative and traditionally advocates for Polish farmers and rural areas.
• Democratic Left Alliance (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, SLD): This left-wing party was active from 1999 to 2015 and was the largest opposition party during both terms of the Civic Platform government. It is socially progressive, pro-EU, and left-wing on economic issues.
• United Left (Zjednoczona Lewica, ZL): This left-wing party was formed in 2015 from a merger of several left-wing parties. It is socially progressive, pro-EU, and left-wing on economic issues.
Political Alliances in Poland
In addition to individual political parties, there are two major political alliances in Poland. The first is the European Coalition (KE), formed in the 2019 European parliament elections and consisting of five centre-right to right-wing parties: Civic Platform, Law and Justice, Agreement (Porozumienie, PO), Polish People’s Party, Solidarity Poland (Solidarna Polska, SP) and United Poland (Solidarna Polska) (Polska Zjednoczona, PZ).
The other major political alliance is the United Left (ZL). This alliance is an electoral alliance of SLD, Democratic Party (Demokratyczna Partia, DP), Labour United (Związek Pracy, ZP), and Greens (Zieloni).
Poland is a parliamentary representative democracy, operating as a unified state with three main branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is made up of the President, who is elected to a five-year term by popular vote, and the Prime Minister, appointed by the president but approved by the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The legislative branch is composed of the Sejm and the Senate. The judiciary is made up of the Supreme Court, regional courts and local courts. In addition, there are many political parties and coalitions in Poland ranging from left-wing to right-wing. The two main coalitions are the European Coalition, consisting of centre-right to right-wing parties, and United Left, an electoral alliance of left-wing parties.
