Natężenie kampanii negatywnych w Polsce w latach 2007–2019

Abstract

This article measures the intensity of negative campaigning in Poland. Its analysis focuses on the share of pre-election rhetoric that involved criticising political opponents, how far this criticism concerned incompetence and how far dishonesty, and which of the competing actors were attacked by the representatives of respective parties. The empirical analyses were conducted with the new Comparative Campaign Dynamics Dataset, which had not been used before in Polish scholarly literature. The results indicate that in Poland the intensity of negative campaigns has increased since 2015 and parties tend to use them in a manner consistent with the strategic premises resulting from their position in the party system. The representatives of new opposition parties, those with a weak position in an election and actors with an anti-systemic profile are more predisposed to criticise others.