The sharp rise in poll ratings of the Confederation party is causing concern on both the right and the left. Confederation is exploiting issues such as the rise of state-funded insurance payments and other allowances. Their questioning of the way public money is being spent has fueled the party’s rise.
Confederation has found a niche because it is the only party that is speaking the language of the free market and is against increasing state intervention in the economy. Its program may be naive, even incoherent, but its message that voters should punish those who have been in power, both liberal and conservative, resonates.
The party is in essence a protest movement. There is a long tradition of protest movements in Poland. Social media has provided a useful multiplier for them, and anger sells well on these platforms.
Voters are encouraged to punish the establishment and vent their frustration against the elites. Confederation is capable of reaching parts of the electorate other parties fail to reach — not with its program, but with its ability to channel anger and frustration. They offer themselves as a vehicle to punish governing politicians for their sins.
These voters will be hard for both the conservatives and the liberals to win back. This is because they simply cannot compete with the Confederation party on its anti-establishment stance.
