The Central Government Fund for Local Investments as an Instrument of Clientelist Politics Towards the Local Government in Poland – The Position of the German Minority in the Opolskie Province

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to analyse the distribution of funds from the Central Government Fund for Local Investments (CGFLI) granted in the years 2020-2021 to the communes and districts of the Opolskie province in which the German minority (GM) rules in local governments. A hypothesis has been formulated that communes and districts governed by the GM are not treated as neutral communes in the same sense as non-partisan communes governed by local government officials who do not represent national political parties, and such communes and districts may thus face discrimination in the distribution of funds, similar to what has been established in the case of the opposition "Senate Bloc". The hypothesis has proven to be accurate. Compared to non-partisan local governments, GM local governments are less likely to be supported and receive less in relative terms under the two CGFLI competition tranches. GM local governments are also in a worse position than Senate bloc local governments.