Political parties
In a democracy the involvement of citizens in social and political life of the country is very important.
Polish citizens have the right to vote for representatives to the Sejm and Senate.
You will understand what political parties are.
You will be able to explain the role of political parties in the political system.
You will be able to explain what political parties cannot be registeredbe registered in Poland and why.
You will be able to name all the political groups in the Polish parliament and describe brieflybriefly their political programmes.
Political parties are social organizations whose main goal is to gainto gain power, because only then can they implement their program, that is, change the state and reality according to their own concept. This is why we do not consider political parties to be non‑governmental organizations. Find out, what the Polish Constitution states about political parties. Listen to the recording or read the extract from the Constitution yourself.
The Constitution of the Republic of PolandChapter I
Article 11
The Republic of Poland shall ensureensure freedom for the creation and functioning of political parties. Political parties shall be founded on the principle of voluntarinesson the principle of voluntariness and upon the equality of Polish citizens, and their purpose shall be to influence the formulation of the policy of the State by democratic means.
The financing of political parties shall be open to public inspectionopen to public inspection.
Article 13
Political parties and other organizations whose programmes are based upon totalitarian methods and the modes of activity of nazism, fascism and communism, as well as those whose programmes or activities sanction racial or national hatred, the application of violence for the purpose of obtaining power or to influence the State policy, or provide for the secrecy of their own structure or membership, shall be prohibited.
Source: The Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
Political parties have a number of various functions: electoral, governing, opinion‑forming, articulatory, creative and organisational functions. Look at the infographics below to study each of the functions closer.
There are many parties on the Polish political stage. Not all of them are in the Sejm right now, but they might try to participate in the next elections. It is worth knowing then, what kind of ideology they represent. Group the political parties according to their categories.
Right Wing of the Republic, Polish Socialist Party, Democratic Left Alliance, The Greens, Real Politics Union, Polish People’s Party, People’s Party “Patrimony”, Liberty, Law and Justice, Kukiz ‘15, Civic Platform, United Poland, Polish People’s Party “Piast”, Together Party, .Modern
| Right-wing parties | |
|---|---|
| Left-wing parties | |
| Liberal parties | |
| Citizens’ movement | |
| People’s parties |
List the groups that joined the Sejm in 2015 on the board. Divide the class into five groups and choose the leaders. Each group will present a part of the political programme of a given group/party that joined the Sejm in 2015, for example regarding family (the class can choose a different issue). During his presentation, the group leader will try to convince the class to the political programme he is presenting. The presented programmes should be authentic, but the idea and the strategy for the presentation depend on your invention and creativity. Remember not to insult each other. Be firm, but emphasiseemphasise the advantages of the opponent: “It is an interesting argument, but on the other hand…”, “I understand your approachapproach, but please note that…”, “I understand your motivation, but I do not agree with this solution.”
Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise. Match the pairs: English and Polish words.
zdobyć, podkreślić, być zarejestrowanym, podejście, zapewnić, jawne (podlegające kontroli publicznej), na zasadzie dobrowolności, krótko
| to be registered | |
| briefly | |
| to gain | |
| to ensure | |
| on the principle of voluntariness | |
| open to public inspection | |
| approach | |
| to emphasize |
Keywords
political party, representatives, political programme
Glossary
być zarejestrowanym
krótko
zdobyć
zapewnić
na zasadzie dobrowolności
jawne (podlegające kontroli publicznej)
podejście
podkreślić