Christian Long

HOW POLAND COMPARES TO THE U.S.

• Poland has a President• President is Bronisław Komorowski• President is elected by the people

• President may serve a maximum of 10 years, two 5 year terms.

• Requirements for the presidency are that you must be a Polish citizen, must be at least 35 years of age on the day

of the first round of the election, and must collect at least 100,000 voter signatures.

• This is very similar to our president because of the requirements that they must be 35 years of age and be a

citizen, and that they are limited to two terms.

TYPE OF GOVERNMENT :LEADER

• The National Assembly has two chambers, the lower chamber (sejm) and the Senate (Senat).

• The lower chamber has 460 members that are elected to 4 year terms by proportional representation in multi-seat

constituencies.• The Senate has 100 members elected to a 4 year terms in

40 multi-seat constituencies under a rare plurality bloc voting method.

• It is bicameral.• This also is very simlar to our Congress because the House is like the lower chamber except ours has 25 less

member and the Senates both have 100 members.

TYPE OF GOVERNMENT: LAWMAKING BODY

• Poland has a high level of Freedom of Expression.• Poland has Freedom of Speech.

• Preventative censorship is prohibited.• Poland has Freedom of Religion.

• In Poland you must have a license to have a firearm. Requirements are that the person must: prove they are not endangering themselves nor general public by passing a psychological evaluation, display that

they have clean criminal record, give a valid reason for wanting to own a gun, such as sport shooting or hunting, if the reason is self-

defense, one must demonstrate why he believes his life is in danger, and pass an exam in proper weapon handling (not required for

members of PZSS and PZŁ).• Two of the three freedoms are just like they would be in the U.S. The

gun rights are different but the requirements they have ensure safety for their people.

TYPE OF GOVERNMENT: RIGHTS

• Multiparty system• Civic Platform combines ordoliberal stances on the economy with

social conservative stances on social and ethical issues. This is the largest party in Poland and the president and prime minister belong

to this party.• There are 2 major parties, Civic Platform and Law and Justice. • There are 4 middling parties, Democratic Left Alliance, Polish

People’s Party, Your Movement, and United Poland• There are 2 minor parties, Poland Comes First and Labor United.

• There are 31 other parties listed that either exist now or have existed before in Poland that were never popular enough to make an impact

on their society.• This is somewhat similar to the political parties in the U.S. because

each have two dominant parties that almost always win and then a number of minor parties below them.

POLITICAL PARTIES: COMPARING SYSTEMS

• Opposed to abortion, same-sex marriage, soft drug

decriminalization, euthanasia, fetal stem cell research, and the

removal of crosses and other religious symbols in schools and

public places.• Party also wants to criminalize

gambling and supports religious education in schools. Also, they want to introduce the chemical

castration of pedophiles.• Focused on economy.

• Wants a safety net for the economy and decreased

taxes.• Supporter of lustration, a

verification system created to stop the

influence of the Communist era in Polish

society.• Supports state provided

health care.• Focused on fighting

corruption.

Civic Platform Law and Justice

POLITICAL PARTIES: NAMES, KEY BELIEFS, AND SYMBOLS

• One must be a Polish citizen, be at least 35 years old on the day of the first round of the election and collect at

least 100,000 signatures of voters.• This is almost exactly like how our president must be a

U.S. citizen and at least 35 years old.

ELECTIONS & VOTING: AGE & QUALIFICATIONS

• One election every 5 years for presidency.• President is voted for by a popular vote.

• Similar to the U.S. only difference is the presidency is one year longer and there is no electoral college.

ELECTIONS & VOTING: HOW OFTEN & WHAT KIND?

• Poland charges an income tax and multiple other taxes to help finance their government just as the U.S. does.

TAXES & GOVERNMENT FINANCE: TAXES

• Has one of the lowest crime rates in Europe, has a lot less crime than the U.S.

• Prison population in Poland is 86,612 while the U.S. prison population is 2.4 million.

• Death penalty is prohibited in Poland and it is not in the U.S.

LAW

• Relations were established in 1919, since 1989 relations between Poland and the U.S. have been strong.

CURRENT RELATIONS WITH U.S.