Polish Local Government vs. Central Government in 1990–2019. Selected Political Issues

Abstract

The paper focuses on the most significant political conflicts between the central and local authorities which have occurred in Poland in the last thirty years. These have concerned political, financial and economic issues. However, from a general point of view, they have been systemic conflicts in which the competences of the central authorities and territorial self-government have been the key area of fighting. The paper is an attempt at evaluating the political transformation of 1989– 1990 in terms of decentralisation of the state and the stability of local democracy, while considering the subsequent stages of its development until 2019. A detailed analysis has covered the developments which have occurred after 2015 and which evidence the return to centralisation and marginalisation of the local democracy. Next to the review of the selected political issues (legal, political and economic system – in local terms), there are also recommendations so important from the point of view of external observers seeking experience in relation to state reforms. The base of sources includes analyses by Polish local governments as well as acts of law, statistical data, documents and press reports.