The rise of Euroscepticism on the political scene in Poland – the case of the party Law and Justice

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the growing phenomenon of Euroscepticism on the political scene in Poland, taking into account the power of the ruling coalition headed by the Law and Justice party. For this purpose, after a brief discussion on the theoretical framework of Euroscepticism, in order to find the reasons for the rise of this phenomenon in Poland in recent years, the current context of the government's relationship with the European Union (EU) is analysed. Consequently, by analysing the political programmes of the Law and Justice party and statements of political actors associated with the main ruling party in Poland, the author verifies the upward trend in unfavourable attitudes towards the EU by current government, as well as consistently appearing considerations of leaving the EU (“Polexit”).

Keywords

• Euroscepticism
• European Union
• Poland
• political scene
• Law and Justice
• ruling coalition