League of Polish Families

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League of Polish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin, or LPR) is a conservative-nationalist opposition party within the Polish Parliament.

1 History
2 Political agenda
- 2.1 Attitude towards the European Union
- 2.2 Stance on Homosexuality
3 Members of Polish Parliament (Sejm) (2001-2005)
4 League of Polish Families - Electoral Committee
5 Members of Polish Senate (2001-2005)
6 Members of European Parliament
7 Eurosceptic caucus: Independence and Democracy
8 External links

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History

The party was created just before the elections in 2001 and gained 8% of the votes which gave it 38 out of 460 seats. Their leader is Roman Giertych. His father Maciej Giertych is a parliament deputy in the same party as his son. Roman Giertych's grandfather was a deputy to the parliament of the Second Polish Republic before the World War II, and a member of the National Democracy, a group that sought initially to ally Poles with Imperial Russia against Germany in the coming european war, and form a restored Poland. Roman Giertych graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He studied both Law and History. Then he started cooperation with Polish National Democrats such as Jan Łopuszański, Antoni Macierewicz, Gabriel Janowski and others.

Some of the press believe that his party is affiliated with father Tadeusz Rydzyk, director of the Catholic radio station Radio Maryja, hugely popular among older people, though sometimes criticized by top Church authorities in Poland. However, it has never been proved that the party is in any way founded by him. Soon after the election in 2001 a group of deputies separated from LPR, creating a new party known now as Porozumienie Polskie (Polish Circle) led by Jan Łopuszański and Ruch Katolick-Narodowy (Catholic-National Movment) led by Antoni Macierewicz.

In the 2004 elections to the European Parliament LPR received 16% votes which gave it 15 out of 54 seats reserved for Poland in European Parliament. This made the LPR the second largest party in Poland in that election, second only to the conservative-liberal Platforma Obywatelska, and well ahead of the then ruling post-communist Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, the populist Samoobrona and the conservative Prawo i Sprawiedliwość. However, two notable features of that election were the low overall turnout (less than 20% of eligible voters) and the apparent very high average age of LPR voters. Thus, the long-term significance of the LPR's strong performance in that election is as yet unclear.

In the 2005 elections LPR gained 8% of the votes which gave it 34 seats, 4 less than before.

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Political agenda

The political agenda is Christian left. However, recently the party has begun to emphasize populism, patriotism and far right social values. The party combines social conservatism with isolationism and left-wing economic policies, based upon its own interpretation of Catholic social teaching. The party is Eurosceptic.

Although it was the only significant political force in Poland that unconditionally opposed Polish membership in the European Union, believing that a union formed by social liberals from the ground up could never be reformed, after the Polish accession the party participated in elections for the European Parliament in order to watch over and have an influence on decisions made towards Poland.

LPR opposes: selling land to foreigners, reinstituting capital punishment, abolishing the draft, legalizing "soft drugs", abortion and euthanasia, promotion of homosexualism. It demands maintaining state founded health care and education, the withdrawl of Polish troops from Iraq and publicizing the complete archives of the communist secret police.

The party appeals to voters who are attracted to traditional social values, the Catholic faith, the concept of Polish national sovereignty, and oppose abortion and homosexuality. At the same time it also attracts voters who feel lost in the post-1989 political transformation in Poland.

Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, director of Radio Maryja (and accused founder of LPR) is sometimes seen to be Nationalist and antisemitic. His relationship to the LPR is disputed.

Image:Roman Giertych.jpg

Roman Giertych reactivated the "All-Polish Youth" (Młodzież Wszechpolska) organization in 1989, becoming its chairman; he remains honorary chairman until this day. For several years he was a member of the National-Democratic Party (Stronnictwo Narodowo-Demokratyczne) and the National Party (Stronnictwo Narodowe), which merged with several other organizations to form the League of Polish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin, LPR) in 2001.

Stronnictwo Narodowe (National Party – SN), and the Endecja (the National Democratic movement have all been seen to be related parties.

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Attitude towards the European Union

The party is fiercely anti-EU. Although it was the only significant political force in Poland that unconditionally opposed Polish membership in the European Union, believing that a union formed by social liberals from the ground up could never be reformed, after the Polish accession the party participated in elections for the European Parliament in order to watch over and have an influence on decisions made towards Poland. In 2004 during the affair with election and speech of Rocco Buttiglione, the conservative Italian nominee as European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security, LPR MEPs demanded the dissolution of the parliament because they felt it was under the influence of a homosexual lobby.

31 MEPs from the UK, Poland, Denmark and Sweden grouped together in the European Parliament to form a group named Independence and Democracy, formerly the group for Europe of Democracies and Diversities, which relaunched with its new name in 2004. The main goals of this group are rejection of any European Constitution and opposition to any plans for a federal Europe. The leaders are: Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP, 12 MEPs), Jens-Peter Bonde from Denmark, and Maciej Giertych from the League of Polish Families (10 MEPs).

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Stance on Homosexuality

LPR speaks strongly against homosexuality, using aggresive rhetoric. Its youth organization called the All-Polish Youth, has on numerous occasions protested against demonstrations organized by by members of homosexual advocacy groups, chanting slogans such as degenerates, perverts, and paedophiles, believing that the next stage of this groups agenda will be legalisation and breaking of other sexual taboos such as paedophilia.

In 2004 during the affair with election and speach of Rocco Buttiglione, the conservative Italian nominee as European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security, LPR MEPs demanded the dissolution of the parliament because they felt it was under the influence of a homosexual lobby.

As mayor of Warsaw, PiS (The ruling Polish political party) leader Lech Kaczyński refused authorisation for the Equality Parade for gay rights on June 11, 2005 in Warsaw.

The Parade took place in spite of this, and eggs, stones and bottles were thrown at participants by young people (nearly all men) from the All-Polish Youth (Młodzież Wszechpolska) youth organisation (a Youth group associated with the League of Polish Families), injuring at least two people, who were hospitalised. The organization claims its members merely sat on the street trying to prevent an illegal manifestation whilst the acting violently were simple soccer fans unrelated to LPR.

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Members of Polish Parliament (Sejm) (2001-2005)

MP, constituency

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