Political/commercial background

摘要

The conservative-nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party has been in government since 2015, and secured re-election in 2019 with the support of two minor right-wing parties: United Poland and Agreement. The liberal-conservative Civic Coalition is the main opposition group in parliament. The prime minister is Mateusz Morawiecki, but the main decision-maker is Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the chairman of PiS. The president, Andrzej Duda, is also from PiS. The Economist Intelligence Unit expects the government to last a full term, until 2023. PiS's agenda merges social conservatism with economic interventionism. Since 2015 the party has prioritised social inclusion and welfare spending, reversing the market-friendly attitude that characterised Poland's post-communist transition. Although Poland remains open to international capital, PiS is sceptical of foreign investment and launched a "repolonisation" programme aimed at repatriating the ownership of key industries. If PiS's economic agenda has proven popular with voters, its social conservatism has sometimes backfired. Until at least the 2023 election, PiS will continue to consolidate its hold over the country's institutions.