Opinions about democracy
The political changes that took place in Poland after the parliamentary elections in 2015
noticeably influenced the attitude of Poles towards democratic and undemocratic
governance and a general identification with the political system.
Approval of democracy expressed in the statement that it has an advantage over other
forms of government is declared by two-thirds of Poles (66%). While there has been a slight
decline in support for democracy since last year, generally speaking it can be said that prodemocratic attitude is firmly rooted in Polish society and fluctuations of opinion observed
in the last 25 years are relatively small.
Do you agree that democracy is superior to all other forms of government?
80%
Agree
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
Disagree
Don't know
20%
10%
0%
X VI XI
’92 ’93
V IX
’95
XI
’96
X
’97
III
’99
IV X
’00
XI III
'01 ’02
V
’04
II
06
XI IV XI
'07
VII I
’08 ’09
III
’10
VIII XI
‘11
VII III VI
'13 '14
XI I VI I
'15 '16
'17
More than a quarter of respondents (28%) agree with the statement that, in some cases,
non-democratic government is more desirable than democratic, and over half (52%) believe
the opposite. A noticeable increase in criticism of undemocratic political solutions followed
the recent parliamentary elections and was reflected in last year's surveys. This year, the
level is not only higher than in 2016, but also the highest on record, i.e. since 1992.
Do you agree that undemocratic government can sometimes be better than
democratic?
60%
50%
Agree
40%
Disagree
30%
Don't know
20%
10%
0%
X VI XI
’92 ’93
V IX
’95
XI
’96
X
’97
III
’99
X
’00
III
’02
V
’04
IX
'05
XI IV XI VII I
’06 ’07 ’07 ’08 ’09
III
’10
VIII XI
‘11
VII III VI
'13 '14
XI I VI I
'15 '16
'17
The level of political alienation has remained the lowest in the history of CBOS surveys since
last year. The percentage of Poles indifferent as to whether the government is democratic
or undemocratic comprises more than one-quarter of all adults (28%), while almost two
thirds (64%) are concerned about it.
Do you agree that, for people like you, it does not really matter whether
the government is democratic or undemocratic?
70%
Disagree
60%
Agree
50%
40%
30%
20%
Don't know
10%
0%
X VI
'92 '93
V
'95
III
'99
X
'00
III
'02
V
'04
IX/X
'05
XI IV XI VII I
'06'07
'08 '09
III
'10
VIIIXI
'11
VII III VI
'13 '14
XI I VI I
'15 '16
'17
The functioning of democracy in Poland is negatively evaluated by more than half of
respondents (52%), while two-fifths (39%) have a positive view. Distribution of opinions on
this subject is similar to results recorded at the beginning and in the middle of last year.
Since 1993, when CBOS started the assessment of the functioning of democracy in Poland,
criticism is in general more common than approval.
Do you agree that, for people like you, it does not really matter whether
the government is democratic or undemocratic?
80%
70%
60%
Dissatisfied
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Satisfied
Don't know
XI
’93
V X
’95
XI
’96
X V
’97 '98
III
’99
XII IV X
’00 ’00
XI III
’01 '02
IIIVII
'03
V XI
’04
IX II
XI IV XI
’06 ’06 ’07 ’07
VII I
’08 ’09
III
’10
VIII XI
‘11
VII III VI
'13 '14
XI I VI I
'15 '16
'17
More information about this topic can be found in CBOS report in Polish: “Opinions on Democracy", February
2017. Fieldwork for national sample: January 2017, N=1045. The random address sample is representative
for adult population of Poland.