Politycy i polityka regionalna w systemie wielopoziomowym. Koalicje regionalne, dobór regionalnych elit samorządowych, modele polityki regionalnej, role aktorów i wzory karier

Abstract

The book focuses on the selection and career paths of the Polish regional government elite. In particular, it investigates the careers of politicians appointed to regional governments (voivodship boards) from the first to the fifth term. Many politicians wishing to pursue professional careers were attracted by the possibility of holding a seat in a regional government, mainly because these authorities make key decisions regarding regional development and the allocation of EU funds within the region (voivodship). During the study, heads of regional boards were interviewed (59) and the career paths of the regional elite were analysed. Based on the study, the following conclusions can be drawn. 1. Regional government positions were mainly occupied by politicians who regarded politics as their profession. However, prior to focusing on their career development in detail, it must be emphasised that one of the main factors determining membership in regional government was the prerequisite of membership in certain parties. Following the policies introduced after the parliamentary election in 2007, more than 80% of regional government positions were divided between two political parties: Civic Platform and the Polish People’s Party. Previously, some political parties entered regional boards less frequently and their representation in regional elites was not proportionate to what one might expect from their election results, but none of them was totally excluded from taking seats on voivodship boards. From 2007 onwards, however, the Law and Justice party was totally rejected as a coalition partner, while members of other parties, although not completely excluded from appointment to regional boards, had only a marginal presence. Coalition politics was the critical factor determining selection of regional board members. It was not only decisions on which parties would enter regional coalitions that had an impact on the composition of regional elites, but also those taken on forming a coalition in central government. A tendency to form congruent coalitions gradually became a widespread phenomenon (even encompassing all regions, as took place after the regional elections in 2010). One can also notice that, from the first to the fifth term, it was particularly important not to form a coalition between the largest ruling party and the main one in opposition in the parliament. A further interesting tendency which slowly developed was the formation of oversized coalitions, as the party forming a national government coalition also invited the second party present in the national government to form a coalition at regional level, including in situations when one of them was able to govern the region by itself as it had a majority in the regional assembly (usually in other regions, the second party had a majority and the favour was reciprocated). 2. The career paths of voivodship elites indicate that for many of them, their careers evolved in political posts in local and regional institutions. Furthermore, the careers of the majority (43% of heads and 63% of all members of regional boards in the period under investigation) were limited to posts in local and regional self‑government. According to the interviews with voivodship heads, only a few found a further career at national level attractive, which also suggests that the availability of these positions played only a limited role. Instead, they revealed that, in the future, they were interested in following local or regional career paths. This study confirms the departure from the traditional model of a political career. It is also important to notice the appearance of new career paths: the individualisation and diversification of political careers is striking. Finally, regional board government positions are usually held for a long time, as exemplified by the head of the Mazovian Voivodship, who is in his sixth term holding the position, or of the Wielkopolskie Voivodship, who has so far been leading the region for five terms. The appearance of a new regional career path has thus been confirmed.