The conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party is still setting the agenda on issues such as protecting Poland against unfavorable treaty changes in the EU, so much so that Donald Tusk has been forced to adopt its stance.
There will however be many smaller issues such as that of wind turbines, where PiS will have to work to expose how foreign lobbies have influence over the ruling coalition and where the conservatives must do their best to defend Polish interests.
PiS managed to defend Polish interests when the country faced black swan events such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and inflation. It managed to protect both the Polish economy and society from excessive turbulence by decisive state action which kept unemployment down and economic growth high.
But now, in opposition, the party must do something about the way it sells itself. It needs to be more professional and disciplined. It is also necessary to increase its internal discipline because, in the long run, it is not possible to win when individual candidates run their own campaigns, sometimes completely detached from the central message. The reality is that PiS, despite having the image of a party governed with a firm hand, is in fact a very loose structure.
Finally, it must be acknowledged that politicians’ competencies in the field of social media are nowadays just as important as other skills and abilities, if not more so. Fortunately, PiS recently spoke with one voice; spoke loudly; had a clear, strong narrative (without which it’s impossible to break through the media advantage of the other side); and also spoke on social media.
There are difficult days ahead that may involve political repression and a brutal attack on independent state institutions, including the media, on the part of the new ruling majority. But they must not deflect PiS from standing firm and defending Polish interests.
The party must, together with President Andrzej Duda, become the guarantors of a democratic order as well as national independence, social, and economic justice. They must be a shield to guard Poles against economic exploitation and ideological extremism.
There can be no doubt that globalism and its local mutations will attack our traditions and values, affecting our property, work, aspirations, and opportunities. PiS must face these challenges and formulate proposals it is confident it will be able to deliver on when it returns to power.
The conservative party must offer Poles a social contract that will defend our rights, interests, and freedoms. That is the way forward, rather than any attempts to ape mainstream parties. PiS must remain faithful to its values to remain viable. Attempting to resemble mainstream parties, trying to imitate them, will end in failure. Such a PiS will be a proposition that convinces no one, and few will need.
