Local Government in Poland as an Actor in Pandemic Crisis

Local Government in Poland as an Actor in Pandemic Crisis In Poland, local government has quite a strong stand with broad competencies and positive image among citizens. However, it’s financial basis is weaker, since it relies on transfer of amounts collected on the central level. The objective of the paper is to analyse the reaction of local government in Poladn: actions taken, solutions applied and support schemes for business and/or citizens offered. The research question is how the local government used its competencies to react to the pandemic itself and consequences of lockdown. Local government had to provide assistance to schools which were closed according to the government regulation, but which are managed on the decentralised level, but in many cases it got also involved in support for local businesses, e.g. by reducing rental fees for commune-owned premises, as well as in assistance for individual citizens, e.g. by distributing personal protection equipment. At the same time, the activities were limited because of shortage of funding, further reduced by the predicted fall of tax revenues after the crisis. Some local governments took also the role in communication, trying to inform their citizens of the course of the crises. The subject is studied by a questionnaire study. The questionnaire, sent to all communal office in the region of Lower Silesia, concerns actions taken, legal basis for this actions, costs and predicted outcomes. The collected data will be compared, taking into account the political standing of the local leadership, pre-crisis budget revenues and expenses, unemployment rate and location in one of the specific subregions of Lower Silesia, as well as population and area of the commune. The research is limited to a single voivodeship to ensure better comparability of particular communes, since the economic and social discrepancy between different regions in Poland are significant. The research will serve to verify whether the crisis helped local leaders strengthen their position with the society due to appropriate and fast reaction or it rather took them by surprise which may make them weaker in future. The answer to this question may also bear impact on the discussion on the limits of decentralisation which is recurring in Poland.