Confederation for Freedom and Independence: Another Unused Chance of the Polish Right

The Confederation for Freedom and Independence, which emerged at the turn of 2018–2019, is seen as another attempt by right-wing nationalist forces to gain a foothold in the Parliament of Poland and oust the conservative party «Law and Justice» on the right flank. In the article, the author examines the circumstances of the creation of the Confederation by several right-wing groups, its participation in the political struggle, ideology and programmatic attitudes. The article shows that the Confederation is trying to combine economic liberalism with conservatism in relation to culture and values, as well as anti-Europeanism in foreign policy. Special attention is paid to the Confederation's participation in the parliamentary elections in October 2023, which allowed it to slightly increase its representation in the Sejm, but did not change its peripheral place in the political system. The author suggests that the Confederation failed to attract the main part of the right-wing electorate. This happened both as a result of a number of inherent weaknesses of Polish right-wing nationalist parties, and because of the specifics of the political struggle in Poland, where the Confederation remained aside from the main confrontation between «Law and Justice» and the liberal coalition that sought to oust it from power. Most likely, far-right forces in Poland will continue to be on the periphery of the political scene in the foreseeable future.