Far-right politics in Poland
Like in other nations across the world, there are several far-right organizations and parties operating in Poland.
History and ideology
Past
An important element of Polish nationalism has been its identification with the Roman Catholic religion with its roots in the Counter-Reformation of the 17th century, and one that became established clearly in the interwar period. Although the old Commonwealth was religiously diverse and highly tolerant, the Roman Catholic religious element with messianic undertones became one of the defining characteristics of the modern Polish identity. Roman Dmowski, a Polish politician of that era, was vital in defining that concept, and has been called the "father of Polish nationalism." Dmowski was the leader of National Democracy. After his death, more radically inclined youth broke off and created the National Radical Camp.Modern
Following the collapse of the communist system in the country, the far-right ideology became visible. The pan-Slavic and neopagan Polish National Union political party at its peak was one of the larger groups active in the early 1990s, numbering then some 4,000 members and making international headlines for its anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism. The National Revival of Poland being a marginal political party, under the leadership of Adam Gmurczyk, operates since the late 1980s. It is a member of European National Front and a co-founder of International Third Position. The organization Association for Tradition and Culture "Niklot" was founded in 1998 by Tomasz Szczepanski, a former NOP member, promoting Slavic supremacy and neopaganism. Since the mid-1990s, the ultra-Catholic Radio Maryja station has been on air with an anti-modernist, nationalist and xenophobic program. All-Polish Youth and National Radical Camp were "recreated" in 1989 and 1993, respectively becoming Poland's most prominent far-right organizations.In 1995, the Anti-Defamation League estimated the number of far-right skinheads in Poland at 2,000, the fifth highest number after Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the United States. Since the late 2000s, native White power skinhead, White supremacy, and Neo-Nazi groups were largely absorbed into more casual and better organized "Autonomous Nationalists".
On the political level, the biggest victories achieved so far by the far-right were in the 2001, 2005, 2015, 2019 and 2023 elections.
The League of Polish Families won 38 seats in 2001, and 34 in 2005. In 2015, entering parliament from the list of Kukiz'15, the far-right National Movement gained 5 seats out of Kukiz's 42. In April 2016, the National Movement leadership decided to break-off with Kukiz's movement, but only one MP followed the party's instructions. The ones that decided to stay with Kukiz'15, together with few other Kukiz's MPs, formed parliamentary nationalist association called "National Democracy". The 2015 election was won Law and Justice, which is widely described as a far-right party.
In 2019, the Confederation gained 1,256,953 votes; representing 6.81% of the total vote in an election that saw a historically high turnout. Together the coalition earned 11 seats, 5 for KORWiN, 5 for National Movement, and 1 for Confederation of the Polish Crown.
In 2023, the Confederation once again broke the record of the best performance of any far-right coalition to date, earning 1,547,364 votes which was 7.16% of the total vote in an election. Together the coalition earned 18 seats.
Members of far-right groups make up a significant portion of those taking part in the annual "Independence March" in central Warsaw, which started in 2009, to mark Independence Day. About 60,000 were in the 2017 march marking the 99th anniversary of independence, with placards such as "Clean Blood" seen on the march.
Over the years other placards or slogans have included "Pure Poland, white Poland" and “white Europe of brotherly nations”.