9 Feb 2019; DW: It was an unusual sight when Poland celebrated 100 years of independence in November: Young people were marching through Warsaw, wrapped in red and white flags, singing the national anthem. They were lured into the streets by patriotism. They represent conservative values and vote for right-wing parties.
In Poland, the young generation's shift to the right is neither a temporary trend nor an expression of protest. It represents a new self-image that has grown with the politics of recent years. Young Poles long for post-material values such as the church, tradition and security.
Think conservatively, vote right-wing
This shift made its mark for the first time in the 2015 parliamentary elections. Two-thirds of voters between 18 and 29 supported parties to the right of center. The national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which today governs Poland, received 27 percent of their votes. A further 21 percent went to the new right-wing populist movement Kukiz'15. The regional elections in October confirmed this pattern. Again, PiS won the most votes in this age group and Kukiz'15 was also able to count on their continuing support.
"In the past three years, young Poles have turned even more towards conservative values," said social psychologist Marta Majchrzak, who co-authored a study published in November by the commercial research institute IQS in which scientists interviewed childless Poles between the ages of 16 and 29. "They trust authorities, are dreaming of marriage, and are proud to be Polish citizens," she explained.
The study classified only 9 percent of respondents as "cosmopolitan" and "open to being different."
No memory of socialism
The younger generation's conservative attitude can be explained by the economic reforms that followed the fall of the Soviet Union. Poles under 30 have no memory of life in a socialist system. They grew up at a time when their parents started their own shops and businesses. What mattered most was economic success. The West was the ideal. Parents promised children that their new Poland would soon become an equal member of the European Union. They predicted that Poland would develop until it was equal to its neighbor Germany.
But the promises were initially followed by disappointment. Under the liberal PO party, which ruled the country from 2007 to 2015, the economy grew, but not the younger generation's economic security. Youth unemployment peaked at more than 27 percent in 2013. Young Poles ended up on temporary contracts and their wages were lower than they had hoped. In 2007 they helped the PO win the elections one last time, but punished the party in the following years by voting for the national conservatives, who promised them a social policy.
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