The KO convention is the beginning of preparations for the elections

The Civic Coalition's founding convention is the first stage of the party's preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections, said Dr. Paweł Trawicki, a political scientist from the University of Gdańsk. The formation's success will depend on, among other things, the integration of structures and programmatic coherence, he added.

As Dr. Paweł Trawicki told PAP, Saturday's convention, during which the Civic Platform, Modern and Polish Initiative announced their merger into one party under the name of Civic Coalition , was well prepared and well thought out.

"This wasn't a classic, internal party event, but rather a political event tailored to a broad audience, intended to demonstrate the emergence of a new quality on the Polish political scene. Without a doubt, this event is a key part of the electoral calendar and the first stage of preparations for the parliamentary elections," said Dr. Trawicki.

In his opinion, the new party's platform grows naturally from the Civic Platform's existing principles, but is expanded to include elements from the other two groups. "Nowoczesna was created as a kind of Civic Platform 2.0, but time has proven this concept wrong. The platform, under Donald Tusk's leadership, fulfilled this formula itself, so the merger was a natural step," the political scientist stated.

He added that the Polish Initiative brings a "more center-left wing" to the new party, which broadens the range of KO's programs.

– The consolidation of the Civic Coalition is taking place in a spirit of voluntary cooperation and without any obvious programmatic tensions, which proves that the entire project has been carefully considered – he assessed.

The expert pointed out, however, that the success of the new formation will depend on how the integration process proceeds, whether it avoids image problems and programmatic clashes, as well as cooperation with other groups, such as the Polish People's Party (PSL) and Poland 2050.

Referring to Donald Tusk's Saturday speech, Dr. Trawicki pointed out that rhetoric alone about holding the PiS government accountable and warning against its return to power will not be enough to win future elections. According to the expert, "feeding your electorate the same old theses" may strengthen the internal cohesion of the ruling camp for a while, but over time it becomes tiresome and insufficient to meet public expectations.

"The reckoning with predecessors cannot be played endlessly. In the long term, voters will expect results in domestic policy – ​​in the economy, education, and healthcare. For now, the government is focusing on international policy, but domestic successes are needed. To effectively convince undecided voters, the government and the party will need visible achievements," assessed Dr. Trawicki.

According to him, the unification of the Civic Platform, Polish Initiative and Modern may strengthen the KO's advantage over PiS in the polls, although the final result of the election is still uncertain.

The expert added that the current political situation favors the Civic Coalition because "some of the statements made by PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, especially regarding international politics, show a certain lack of understanding of the realities."

"Prime Minister Tusk is now in an easier position, as he can demonstrate a lack of logic and consistency in Law and Justice's proposals. Furthermore, the government's relatively sensible foreign policy deprives Jarosław Kaczyński of a weapon to criticize, as evidenced by the PiS leader's recent speeches. The path to parliamentary elections is now clear for the new Civic Coalition, which may be somewhat facilitated by Law and Justice's current lack of a coherent vision for Polish politics," said Dr. Trawicki. (PAP)

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