It’s Time for the Fifth Republic

Societies that see opportunities where others see threats are the ones that win the future.

When did the Third Polish Republic end? Let's leave the dispute over the exact date to historians. Undoubtedly, however, we are in the Fourth Republic (IV RP). The IV RP once dreamed up by POPiS* has been realized in a wicked, twisted form. Preserving the society’s cohesion and welfare as well as the state’s interest require the transition to the Fifth Republic.

Constitutions have no power other than an agreement to respect and abide by them within the framework of a functioning social contract. This is perhaps the only common feature among them. Other than that, constitutions differ in everything: the scope and detail of the issues covered; the manner and barriers to amendments; the controls of the law's compliance with the highest legal act of the state.

The coalition that has been in power in Poland since 2015, lacking a constitutional majority, has amended it de facto through a circuitous route of parliament acts and laws. The fact that in more than 140 instances, out of 243 articles, the 1997 Polish Constitution refers to regulation by law was used as a back door.

Restoring the Third Republic does not seem to be possible in compliance with its formal institutions. In addition, there does not seem to be a public consensus on the desire to return to the status quo ante. Accepting that we are no longer in the Third Republic will make it easier for us to move more quickly away from the current mix of formal and informal rules. A mixture corrosive to the state, demolishing its institutions and foundations.

The changing world brings new challenges. Along with them, some of the rules around which we organize ourselves as a society must be updated. Poland's shift from Eastern Europe (1989) to Central and Eastern Europe (turn of the 20th and 21st centuries) to Central Europe (now) is history with a capital "H" happening at an accelerated pace.

The previous constitution was written in relatively poor Poland, aspiring to catch up with the West. Thirty years later, we are a member of NATO, the EU, the WTO and the OECD. We have become a full member of the West - a community of the world's richest societies united by their belief in democratic values.

The constitutional anchor of NATO and EU memberships should put an end to sterile disputes about our place in the West before they even begin. These discussions are a distraction from the existential challenges facing Poland and Europe - the challenges of a revanchist Russia; the growing role of artificial intelligence; an expansionist China; climate change. For further development, it is necessary, in the first place, to ask the right questions; to give the best possible answers to them; to effectively implement those answers in a way that would not be contested and changed in its entirety every four years. Getting the institutional foundations right in our country is a prerequisite for any of these three steps. The alternative, which is a sustained and continuous focus of attention and energy on an internal and self-generated crisis, is the path of Spain and Italy. Both of these countries have been playing below their potential for decades, despite having all the conditions to continue developing and playing a leading role on the international stage.

The next parliament has a chance to consist of representation from all parties running in the elections, none of which would have a dominant position. Societies that see opportunities where others see threats are the ones that win the future. In the most diverse Sejm [lower chamber of parliament] in over 20 years, let's see a chance to glue our society back together. The Constituent Assembly can be a mediator of social divisions, a chance to build new consensus where possible and compromise where necessary.

The world and the country at an inflection point need rules’ update. The time has come for a 21st century constitution written with the participation of Polish women and men born in free Poland. It is time for the Fifth Republic.

* POPiS - coalition of Civic Platform (PO) and Law & Justice (PiS) parties, announced ahead of 2005 elections, with plans for deep institutional reforms; coalition talks broke over leadership disputes. Subsequently both parties became sworn enemies.