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League of Polish Families
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| League of Polish Families | |
|---|---|
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| Leader | Sylwester Chruszcz |
| Founded | 30 May 2001 |
| Headquarters | ul. Hoża 9, 00-528 Warsaw |
| Official ideology/ political position |
National conservatism |
| International affiliation | 5 MEPs in Union for Europe of the Nations, 2 MEPs in Independence and Democracy, 3 MEPs unaffiliated in the European Parliament |
| Website | www.lpr.pl |
| Poland |
 This article is part of the series: |
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See also: Economy, Foreign relations |
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Other countries · Atlas Politics Portal |
The League of Polish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin, LPR) is a national ultraconservative political party in Poland. It was represented in the Polish parliament, forming part of the former governing coalition [1], until the latter dissolved in September of 2007 [2]. It is widely regarded as being a far-right party. The party's opposition to the rights of homosexual people has led to condemnation from The European Commission [3].
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The LPR was created just before the elections in 2001 and gained 8% of the vote, giving it 38 out of 460 seats. Its former leader, Roman Giertych, studied Law and History at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. During his career his political alliances have included such Polish National Democrats as Jan Łopuszański, Antoni Macierewicz, Gabriel Janowski[citation needed].
Roman Giertych's father, Maciej Giertych, also a member of LPR, is a member of the European Parliament. His grandfather was a member of parliament of the Second Polish Republic prior to World War II from the National Democracy Party, which opposed to Józef Piłsudski, who initially sought to ally Poles with Imperial Russia against Germany in the First World War[citation needed].
Some sources claim that the LPR owes much of its success to Radio Maryja, a controversial Catholic radio station. Both Radio Maryja and LPR are financed by Jan Kobylański[citation needed], a Uruguay-based millionaire. Kobylański was reportedly prevented from entering the US due to his alleged wartime collaboration with the Nazis[citation needed].
The performance of League of Polish Families in the September 2001 elections, has been partly attributed to its well publicized and uncompromising attitude towards Jedwabne pogrom [1] During the election campaign Ryszard Bender, one of the LPR founders and leaders, participated in LPR television broadcasts denying the facts of the Jedwabne pogrom of 1941 and accusing President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, who participated in commemoration ceremony, that took place at Jedwanbe in July 2001, of bowing to Jewish interest groups [2].
Soon after the election in 2001 a group of deputies separated from LPR, creating a new party known now as Porozumienie Polskie (Polish Circle) led by Jan Łopuszański and Ruch Katolicko-Narodowy (Catholic-National Movement) led by Antoni Macierewicz[citation needed].
In the 2004 elections to the European Parliament LPR received 16% votes, which gave it 15 out of 54 seats reserved for Poland in the European Parliament. This made the LPR the second largest party in Poland in that election, second only to the liberal conservative Platforma Obywatelska, and well ahead of the then ruling post-communist Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, the populist Samoobrona and the conservative Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (also known as PiS). However, two notable features of that election were the low overall turnout (less than 20% of eligible voters) and the high average age of LPR voters. Thus, the long-term significance of the LPR's strong performance in that election is unclear. In the 2005 elections LPR again received 8% of votes, but saw its seats reduced from 38 to 34. In the 2007 Parliamentary election it failed to gain the 5% of votes required to enter the Sejm and lost all the seats it previously held, in addition to failing meeting the 3% of votes requirement for eligibility to receive government funding. The leader of the party, Roman Giertych, has stepped down from his post as the party's leader, but remains a member.
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007) |
The political agenda is a mix of nationalism and Christian solidarism. Recently the party has begun to emphasize patriotism and conservative social values. The party combines social conservatism with isolationism and left-wing economic policies, based upon its own interpretation of Catholic social teaching[citation needed].
The LPR opposes: the selling of land to foreign nationals (especially German Heimatvertriebene), abolishing the draft, legalization of "soft drugs", abortion, euthanasia, and gay marriage. It supports capital punishment, maintaining universal health care and public education, and supports the withdrawal of Polish troops from Iraq. The LPR also supports the publication of the complete archives of the Polish communist secret police -- in other words, full "de-Communization."[citation needed]
The party particularly appeals to voters sympathetic towards traditional social values, the Catholic faith, and the concept of Polish national sovereignty. Its policies also attract some who feel lost in the post-1989 political transformation of the country, although the populist Andrzej Lepper's Samoobrona ("Self Defense") appeal more directly to so-called marginalized voters.[citation needed]
Roman Giertych reactivated the "All-Polish Youth" (Młodzież Wszechpolska) organization in 1989, becoming its chairman; he remains honorary chairman. For several years he was a member of the National-Democratic Party (Stronnictwo Narodowo-Demokratyczne) and the National Party (Stronnictwo Narodowe), which merged with several other organizations to form the League of Polish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin, LPR) in 2001.
The party is anti-EU. Although it was the only significant political force in Poland that unconditionally opposed Polish membership in the European Union (believing that a union controlled by social liberals could never be reformed), after Polish accession to the EU the party participated in European Parliament elections, in order to have actual influence over decisions made regarding Poland. During the 2004 controversy surrounding Rocco Buttiglione (the conservative Italian nominee as European Commissioner for "Justice, Freedom, and Security"), the LPR deputies demanded the dissolution of the parliament, feeling that it was too much under the influence of a homosexual lobby.
In 2004, 31 MEPs from the UK, Poland, Denmark and Sweden formed the new Independence and Democracy, formerly the group for Europe of Democracies and Diversities. The main goals of this group are the rejection of any European Constitution and opposition to any plans for a federal Europe. Leaders include Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP, 10 MEPs), Jens-Peter Bonde from Denmark, and Maciej Giertych from the League of Polish Families (10 MEPs).
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007) |
The LPR is strongly against homosexuality, in both its rhetoric and policy objectives. Its youth organization, the All-Polish Youth, has on numerous occasions, counter-protested against demonstrations organized by members of Gay and Lesbian rights groups[citation needed].
As mayor of Warsaw, PiS (The ruling Polish political party) leader Lech Kaczyński refused authorisation for the Equality Parade for gay rights on June 11, 2005 in Warsaw. When the parade took place despite the ban, eggs, stones and bottles were thrown at the participants of the march by young men from the All-Polish Youth (Młodzież Wszechpolska), (a youth group associated with the League of Polish Families). Two people were injured and hospitalized at that occasion. However, the organization condemned the violence that took place[citation needed].
- ^ Stefan Auer (2004). Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe. Routledge, 67. ISBN 0415314798.
- ^ Cas Mudde (2005). Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe. London: Routledge, 159. ISBN 0415355931. OCLC 55228719.
- Official website in Polish
