Notary of the Government? The Role of President in the Polish Political System

The role of the presidents within the Polish political system shows that a political regime is formed by both institutional factors and strategies of political parties. This seems to be evident especially when we compare periods of cohabitation and periods when the president and prime minister belong to the same party. Special emphasis has to be put on the role of party leadership in the party to which the president belonged. Recent developments in Poland show that a strong party leadership may diminish the roles of both the president and the prime minister. In contemporary Poland, the power of the parliament is growing, as it is the parliamentary majority that passes laws initiated by deputies instead of the government. According to the Polish legislation such proceeding allow to avoid lengthy consultations before the bill is passed. The determination of the Law and Justice party to pass legislation in a very rapid way also means that the president is under pressure and has been turned into a notary, in sharp contrast to his acquired and envisioned role in the past.