Trzydzieści lat zmian w rządzeniu w Polsce po roku 1989

After 1989, Poland’s regime, its political system, governing mechanisms, and its administrative system have undergone a peaceful change of a revolutionary nature. The rejection of the solutions typical of a socialist state and their replacement with mechanisms of a democratic state, governed by the rule of law, has progressed in three stages: systemic changes, European transformation, and qualitative modernization. The economic system as well as the organization, principles, and standards of operation of public institutions have been radically reshaped. Three constitutional regimes have succeeded one after another. On the political scene, after a period of fragmentation, there emerged two blocs, both internally non-uniform and strongly opposed to one another. Bitter rivalry surfaced between the supporters of the liberal and pro-European direction and the proponents of the conservative project that emphasized particularisms and focused on threats to national interests. Poland’s parliamentary cabinet system, with its separation of powers, dual executive and a strong local government, gave rise to a polycentric, multilayered and multilane model of government that was fi rmly grounded in a constitutional model but still not immune to threats in practice. After 2015, political power has been given to the leader of the biggest party in the Parliament, who is free of any constitutional responsibility; attempts to do away with the separation of powers have also got more aggressive. The will of the people has been interpreted as synonymous with immediate interests of the dominating party. Attempts to eliminate minority voices from the discussion of public matters have been many and evident. The overall positive outcome of the Polish transformation does not excuse the researcher from evaluating in an exhaustive manner and continuously identifying the critical points and strategic challenges that Poland faces in the domain of governing.