Slawomir Mentzen, left, and Krzysztof Bosak, right, the oo-leders of the hard right Confederation party, present their party slogan "Mozemy Wszystko!" (We Can Do Anything) at a convention in Katowice, Poland, on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. Confederation has been growing in popularity, especially among young men. The party has been riding a wave of growing support for far-right parties across Europe, and polls show it could increase its presence in parliament in a national election Oct. 15. No matter how they do on election day, the party has already done a lot to push the government to take a more confrontational stance to Ukraine, which is fighting for its survival against Russia. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poland’s hard-right Confederation party opened its electoral campaign convention as if it were a rock concert, with a singer riding up on a motorcycle, its engine revving, and a pyrotechnic show of flames and sparklers.
The party has been growing in popularity, especially among young men fed up with the political parties that have dominated Poland for most of the post-Communist era. Its convention in Katowice on Saturday, billed as its largest ahead of parliamentary elections on Oct. 15, was aimed at energizing more voters and at playing down antisemitism and other extreme views among some of its members.
Through smoke and fire, Confederation’s leaders made their case for lower taxes, less regulation and an anti-European Union and anti-Ukraine foreign policy.Confederation has turned up the heat on the Polish political establishment, riding a wave of support for nationalist conservative parties across Europe. Similar political forces have surged on opposition to widespread migration to Europe and anger over COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Such parties now govern in Italy, belong to the government in Finland and support a minority government in Sweden.
The Polish party, which won nearly 7% of the vote four years ago, was polling at around 15% in the summer, creating the prospect of a third-place finish after the governing national conservative party Law and Justice, which is the frontrunner in surveys, and the opposition Civic Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which is trailing in second place.
For now, Confederation’s leaders insist they have no intention of joining established powers at the table.
“We are going to these elections to overturn the table where all the politicians are sitting,” said Krzysztof Bosak, a party co-leader, speaking at the convention in Katowice where the party introduced its campaign slogan, “We can do anything.”
No matter what happens on election day, Confederation has already altered the central European nation’s relationship with neighboring Ukraine, which is fighting for its survival against a brutal invasion from Russia.
The party’s poll numbers rose as its leaders hammered their message that Poland, a key ally, was not getting the gratitude it deserved for sending Kyiv weapons and helping large numbers of refugees.
Like other European hard-right parties, Confederation not only opposes vaccine mandates and mass migration, it is also hostile to LGBTQ+ people and skeptical on climate change.
But on Ukraine, it had to tread carefully. Poland spent more than 40 years behind the Iron Curtain and memories of Russian domination still sting. The party used a wedge issue to build support for its stance. Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products have entered Polish markets, causing a glut and driving down prices for local farmers.
Feeling the heat, Poland’s government hardened its line. It has banned imports of Ukrainian grain, triggering angry words and retaliation from Kyiv at the World Trade Organization. Ties fell to their lowest point since Russia’s invasion. Prime Minister Morawiecki suggested last week that the days of sending Polish weapons to Ukraine could be over.
