The elections in Poland were slated to be the most important of Poland’s post-Communist era. The result has been covered by every left wing media outlet in America and around the world claiming a saving of the Polish democracy (sound familiar). The fact that you can peruse the left wing media and see the their thrill from this result and the political narratives they throw around will tell you this is far from a good news story for the polish people. A little summary: - Poland has won, democracy has won! That hype represented the neuroses of Europe’s left-leaning political class. - the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) won the plurality in Sunday’s election with about 36%, despite frequent complaints that PiS robbed Poland of its democratic freedoms. PiS will get the initial opportunity to form a new government, but is expected to fall short. - This places Poland’s opposition coalition, made up of three centrist, liberal and leftist parties, won a combined 54% of the vote and enough seats in Parliament to have a mandate to form a government. - To overhaul Polish politics could prove "a complicated mission" for a coalition government encompassing various ideological groupings. - Former Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition, hailed as centrist, is expected to be appointed prime minister. - the election result will have major implications for Polish democracy, European unity and the West’s effort to confront Russian aggression. - PiS’s eight years in power have been controversial to put it mildly. The party implemented reforms that increased political influence over the judiciary. PiS also hews to conservative values on sexual morality and abortion that are out of step with much Western European thinking. This reflects Poland’s more conservative, predominately Catholic culture but offends secular sensibilities in European capitals and at European Union offices in Brussels. - These debates mark serious challenges in Poland that aren’t so different from concerns elsewhere. Poles aren’t alone in grappling with accountability for the judiciary when a long strand of progressive theory holds that judges can and should impose by fiat, policies that can’t win legislative assent. - This weekend’s election shows Polish democracy remains up to the task of allowing voters to debate and change their minds, and they may choose to vote for PiS again in the future. A lesson for other Europeans is that not every policy you dislike—even the big ones—is a mortal threat to democracy. - The Ipsos Mori poll, which sampled 900 polling stations, projected that Law and Justice had won 36.8 percent of the vote. The opposition Civic Platform was projected to have gotten 31.6 percent. But, pivotally, two political forces seen as potential allies in a new “democratic” coalition collectively had garnered another 21.6 percent. A fourth political force — the Confederation party, seen as even further to the right than Law and Justice — was polling well below expectations at 6.2 percent. Concluding thoughts: - The biggest glaring issue may be that the election has created "a polarized nation", split between more liberal voters who look to the EU and conservatives wedded to traditional values ... "bringing Poles back together may be the toughest task of all." Four major parties competed in this election in Poland, the majority vote getter, the incumbent, with only 36%. The so-called centrist party coming in second at 31%, third place getting 21% and the fourth running behind at 6%. So the governing coalition will be comprised of minority parties, together getting 52% of the vote. Who says they will be able to agree on anything. Did the third place candidate's supporters not vote for the other three for a reason? Why not have a run off to force the Polish electorate to chose between the two top vote getters? At least then the people would know who most people want. Absent that, you can see how a multiple party ballot or ranked choice voting can only lead to further divisions. This is an extremely poor election process. We have many parties in the US offering candidates for president, and that is only right. Most recent US elections have had party extensions (Green, Communist, etc) that divide the left wing Democrats. Most get maybe 2 - 3 % and have no to minor impact on the result. We have had major third party candidates who had great impact on our elections. The most recent being Ross Perot in 1992. He got 19% and gave that election to the largest vote getter of the minority, Bill Clinton. Without Perot, would his voters have voted for Clinton or Bush? No one knows. But, it made a huge difference in the direction of the country. For better or for worse, depends on who you ask. In the 2024 US elections there now exists a third party candidate, Robert F Kennedy Jr. Will he have that same impact? Depends on which side's vote gets impacted. Why not build your coalition before the election! Keep it to two competitors (parties). That way the voters have something real to vote on. Successful US elections usually get 50-52% of the vote. As a result, there is a recognition, or their used to be, that a large percent of the people did not vote for the winner. Now in the US, if you get the victory, no matter how small, you can ignore those who did not vote for you. The trend is to scream about the loss of democracy, and then to get into power and push for even less freedom & democracy (see Joe Biden). Expect that to happen in Poland beginning in 2024. Polish voters must learn to ignore political narratives like; save our democracy, far-right, extremists, ad nauseum. US voters and other freedom loving people around the world have to do the same in order to stop the encroachment of government on the lives of free people.