Post-Populist Climate Politics: Lessons from Poland’s Liberal Reconstruction

Summary

Right-wing populist political forces are generally perceived to be a threat to ambitious climate action. However, in some countries where populists came to power, liberal electoral victories allowed for reversing the dismantling of institutions and opened the space for more ambitious environmental and climate policy. What are the problems such reconstruction processes face? This article looks at the case of Poland, where, following two terms of populist rule, a liberal coalition took power with an ambitious climate action program. However, two years on, the actual policy output is modest. Cohabitation with a populist-backed president and the internal diversity of the anti-populist coalition governments are very important factors influencing policy outcomes. However, we note that the translation of ambitious electoral manifestos into policy proposals is explained by the way populists are still able to control the agenda and thus constrain liberal governments even when they are in power, which is a broader lesson that can be learned for liberal democracy and climate politics beyond Poland.