On Sunday, May 31, I attended the founding congress of the Nowoczesna PL (Modern Poland) organization, a liberal alternative to the Civic Platform, which suffered defeat on May 24 when President Bronisław Komorowski lost the presidential election to Andrzej Duda of the Law and Justice party.
The congress was held at the Torwar event center opposite the soccer stadium where Legia Warszawa plays.
Over 9,000 people registered for the event and all of the seating and much of the floor space in the Torwar was at or near capacity.
The event had a populist feel, as the first hour was spent allowing participants to state their policy suggestions at a microphone and then pin them to a wall that spelled out Nowoczesna PL, though its clear that the main actors of the party consist of social elites with a specific agenda.
Congress attendees pin their policy ideas to a wall after sharing them at the microphone.
The organization is led by Ryszard Petru, an economist who advised Leszek Balcerowicz, the Polish vice-premier and finance minister from 1997-2000. He also worked in the World Bank on Polish and Hungarian affairs and as the chief economist and strategist for several of Poland’s major banks.
Ryszard Petru chairing the event from the main stage.
The five major values of the organization are: nowoczesność (modernity), wolność (freedom), rozwój (development), zaangażowanie (engagement), and odpowiedzialność (responsibility).
Nowoczesna PL presents an economically liberal, free-market oriented approach that means to modernize and revitalize Poland by tapping its potential and creating opportunities for Poles, especially young adults who face a dismal job market.
Of Poles ages 15-24, 23% are unemployed, compared to 12% of the overall population. Two million Poles (about 5% of the population) have left the country since Poland became part of the EU in 2005 to find work in western Europe, particularly in England, Ireland and Germany.
Ryszard Petru and the eight speakers that took part in the congress on the main stage.
The main portion of the congress lasted about an hour and half and featured Ryszard Petru speaking and introducing each of eight other speakers that represented a cross-section of the organization and different elements of Polish society. Among the speakers were a doctor, teacher, mayor, youth movement organizer, businessman and publicist.
Among the policies highlighted by the speakers were educational reform to better prepare Polish graduates, restructuring of the retirement and medical systems to better serve the population and the overhaul of Poland’s regulatory bureaucracy to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start businesses and allow them to thrive.
Though it wasn’t explicitly stated, the organization will aspire to become a full-fledged political party, but the popular support that it receives remains to be seen. Though economic policy was the overall theme of the congress, the organization undoubtedly leans towards social liberalism as well.
Among the policy suggestions of many attendees that spoke during the first part of the event were calls for the separation of church as state, support for abortion, gay rights and in vitro fertilization (which President-elect Andrzej Duda has spoken out against).
The target audience for Nowoczesna PL are Poles who are very disappointed (“furious” as the first speaker said) with the Civic Platform’s perceived incompetence and corruption, and disillusioned with Poland’s entire post-1989 political class.
The Civic Platform has certainly been shaken by the result of the presidential election less than two weeks ago, and though it still controls the Polish Parliament, its popularity is slipping.
A recent poll showed the Law and Justice party (allied with several small, conservative parties) in first place with 25% support amongst the population, while the Civic Platform was in third place with 17% support. The party of Paweł Kukiz (an entertainer-turned-politician) has 20% support, roughly mirroring the percentage of the vote he received in the first round of the presidential elections placing him third behind Duda and Komorowski. In the poll, the newly-established Nowoczesna PL placed fourth overall with 10% support.
At the end of the congress the attendees were encouraged to sign up based on their region of Poland to participate in the organization’s activities. The coming weeks and months will lay the groundwork for the parliamentary elections in October. Nowoczesna PL will surely attract many voters with its broadly appealing economic message, but simply having good ideas isn’t enough in politics. The organization’s success and that of its competition will depend on how political leaders can galvanize support behind a compelling vision for Poland’s future.
