What does Law and Justice’s election victory in Poland mean for Europe?

Poland held parliamentary elections on 25 October 2015, with the conservative Law and Justice party defeating the incumbent Civic Platform government. Aleks Szczerbiak assesses what the election result means for Poland’s relations with Europe. He writes that although the campaign was dominated by domestic issues, Law and Justice’s victory could herald a substantial shift in the country’s foreign policy. However, he notes that divisions between Polish parties on international affairs are often an extension of domestic politics by other means and experience suggests that the new government may be more Eurosceptic in its rhetoric than in practice.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Polish parliamentary election, 2015 http://www.europeansources.info/record/polish-parliamentary-election-2015/

ESO: Background information: Polish right sweeps parliamentary elections http://www.europeansources.info/record/polish-right-sweeps-parliamentary-elections/

Carnegie Europe: Strategic Europe, 26.10.15: Poland’s Euroskeptic Future http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=61741

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