Cities in Transition

Transcription

Cities
in Transition
Urban Governance in Olomouc Region
and Opole Voivodeship
Ewa Ganowicz, Lech Rubisz, Radomir Sztwiertnia (editors)
Publication of the book was supported by funds of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Czech Republic within the programme Czech-Polish Forum and Regional
Office of the Olomouc Region.
First published in Olomouc 2013 by
Civipolis, o.p.s., Bystrovanská 263/19A, 772 00, Olomouc, Czech Republic
www.civipolis.cz
Key words: local politics, urban governance, cities, Olomouc Region,
Opole Voivodeship
Reviewed by:
PhDr. Daniel Klimovský, Ph.D.
PhDr. Jan Outlý, Ph.D.
© Civipolis, o.p.s., 2013
ISBN 978-80-905527-2-2
Contents 5
Contents
List of tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
List of figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Abbreviations and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Part I
1
Czech and Polish urban politics two decades after transition
to democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Ewa Ganowicz and Radomir Sztwiertnia
2
Municipal democracy or democratic governance in the cities?
Axiological and procedural aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Lech Rubisz
Part II
3
The region of Opole and the role of selected cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Aleksandra Trzcielińska-Polus
4
The identity of the city of Opole. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Danuta Kisielewicz and Piotr Bujak
5
Patterns of political competition in selected cities of Opole region . . . . 58
Bożena Wroniszewska
6
The media image of selected cities in the Opole region . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Adam Drosik
7
Local government and civil society institutions in selected cities
of the Opole region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Ewa Ganowicz
8
The legal framework for municipal politics in Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Piotr Klimontowski
6
Part III
9
Local politics in the Czech Republic: principles, functioning
and main issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Pavel Šaradín
10 Olomouc Region and its cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Karel Páral
11 Political representation of the Olomouc Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Michal Kuděla
12 Civic participation and local democracy in cities of
the Olomouc Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Radomir Sztwiertnia
Part IV
13 Conclusion: Polish and Czech urban governance in comparative
perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Pavel Šaradín
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Notes on the Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Listo of tables 7
List of tables
Table 1.
Factors affecting the identity and functions
of the cities of Opole Voivodeship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Table 2.
Strengths and weaknesses of Kędzierzyn-Koźle. . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Table 3.
Strengths and weaknesses of Nysa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Table 4.
Strengths and weaknesses of Głuchołazy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Table 5.
Strengths and weaknesses of Głogówek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Table 6.
Population and number of electoral circuits
and electoral districts in selected cities (2002–2010) . . . . . . . . . . 59
Table 7.
The number of local groupings and political parties
in the cities of Opole Voivodeship (2002–2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Table 8.
Candidates in Opole local elections (2002–2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Table 9.
Candidates and elected councillors in Głogówek
local elections (2002–2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Table 10. The number of registered committees and electoral
lists in selected municipalities (2002–2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Table 11. The names of the electoral committees in the selected
municipalities (2002–2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Table 12. Results of the elections for the (rural) commune head,
the mayor, and the President of the City (1990–2010) . . . . . . . . . 71
Table 13. Poles’ perception of their influence on the affairs
of their city/municipality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Table 14. Forms of participation and frequency of their use
selected municipalities (2010–2013). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Table 15. Shares of received vote and seats, by the proposing party
in local elections (1990–2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Table 16. Overview of seats in Municipal Assemblies in terms
of municipality size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
8
Table 17. Overview of the voter turnout and election results
for the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament
of the Czech Republic in 1994–2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Table 18. Overview of party affiliation of the senators elected
for the Olomouc Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Table 19. Self-government election results in the Olomouc Region
in 2000–2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Table 20. Results of municipal elections in Olomouc
in 1994–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Table 21. Results of municipal elections in Přerov in 1994–2010 . . . . . . . . 141
Table 22. Results of municipal elections in Prostějov
in 1994–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Table 23. Results of municipal elections in Šumperk
in 1994–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Table 24. Results of municipal elections in Jeseník in 1994–2010 . . . . . . . 144
Table 25. Number of competing entities in municipal elections
in 1994–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Table 26. Comparison of the voter turnout in municipal elections
in 1994–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Table 27. Forms of citizen involvement in the cities of Olomouc Region . . 153
Table 28. Number of non-profit organisations per 1,000 citizens
in cities of the Olomouc Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Table 29. Comparison of opinions and attitudes
of city representatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Table 30. Comparison of opinions and attitudes
of city representatives – continuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
List of figures 9
List of figures
Figure 1. Cities of the Olomouc Region and Opole Voivodeship . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 2. Administrative division of the Olomouc Region . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Figure 3. Confidence in selected political institutions
in the Czech Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
10
Abbreviations and Acronyms
ANO 2011 Action of Dissatisfied Citizens 2011
(Akce nespokojených občanů 2011)
CBOS
Public Opinion Research Centere
(Centrum Badań Opinni Społecznej)
CZ
Czech Republic
CZSO
Czech Statistical Office (Český statistický úřad)
ČSSD
Czech Social Democratic Party
(Česká strana sociálně demokratická)
ČSÚ
Czech Statistical Office (Český statistický úřad)
EC
Electoral Committee (Komitet wyborczy)
ECV
Electoral Committee of Voters (Komitet wyborczy wyborców)
KDU-ČSL Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People’s Party
(Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová)
KSČ
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
(Komunistická strana Československa)
KSČM
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
(Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy)
Nezávislí
The Independents (political movement)
NK
Independent candidate (nezávislý kandidát)
NUTS
Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics
ODA
Civic Democratic Alliance (Občanská demokratická aliance)
ODS
Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana)
OF
Civic Forum (Občanské fórum)
OR
Olomouc Region
OV
Opole Voivodeship
PO
Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska)
SNK
Union of Independent Candidates
(Sdružení nezávislých kandidátů)
Abbreviations and Acronyms 11
SNK-ED
Union of Independent Candidates-European Democrats
(Sdružení nezávislých kandidátů – Evropští demokraté)
SPOZ
Party of Citizens’ Rights Zemanovci
(Strana práv občanů Zemanovci)
SPR-RSČ
Coalition for Republic – Republican Party of Czechoslovakia
(Sdružení pro republiku – Republikánská strana Československa)
SSO
Free Citizens Party (Strana svobodných občanů)
SZ
Green Party (Strana zelených)
TOP 09
Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09
US
Freedom Union (Unie svobody)
US-DeU
Freedom Union-Democratic Union
(Unie svobody – Demokratická unie)
Úsvit
Dawn of Direct Democracy (Úsvit přímé demokracie)
VV
Public Affairs (Věci veřejné)
WUP
Regional Labour Office (Wojewódzki Urząd Pracy)
Preface 13
Preface
This book, Cities in Transition. Urban Governance in Olomouc Region and
Opole Voivodeship, is the result of a joint research project involving scholars from the Institute of Political Science of Opole University and from
the Department of Politics and European Studies at Palacký University
in Olomouc, who have a long standing interest in how Czech and Polish
cities have been transformed during the past 25 years of economic, social
and particularly political transition.
The book was prepared with the support of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Czech Republic under the programme Czech-Polish Forum
and the Regional Authority of the Olomouc Region.
We hope that the book will be of interest to scholars, students and the
general public in the Central European region and beyond. We hope it
offers anyone interested in local politics a deeper understanding of the
change in Silesian and Moravian cities after the transition to democracy
and an overall understanding of the development of democratic governance in Central Europe.
Part I
1 Czech and Polish urban politics two decades after transition to democracy
1
17
CZECH AND POLISH URBAN POLITICS TWO
DECADES AFTER TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY
Ewa Ganowicz and Radomir Sztwiertnia
Cities of the Olomouc and Opole Regions
This publication deals with two neighbouring Central European regions
– Opole Voivodeship in Poland and the Olomouc Region in the Czech
Republic. Even though the political and socioeconomic processes in these
regions are determined by the distinct developments in both countries after
the fall of the communist regimes, we can identify a number of similarities
which indicate the general trends in the development of urban governance
in connection with the abovementioned transition, integration of regions
into supranational European organizations, and participation in the global
economy. In the case of these two regions, we can highlight some general
problems in their peripheral areas during the post-transitional period as in
both regions we find depopulated areas with adverse conditions in terms
of age, education and their economic structure.
Since the early 1990s, both regions have experienced high unemployment rates that exceed the national average. The Olomouc region in the
Czech Republic contributed to gross domestic product by only 4.7% in
2012, while Opole Voivodeship produced 2.1% of Poland’s GDP. Apart
from economic difficulties, we identify social problems in the regions,
which are caused by the negative demographic situation. Opole Voivodeship has a population of 1.01 million and as such is the smallest province
in Poland (2.6% of Polish population). It has the lowest fertility rate and
the lowest number of people in the 0–14 age group of all Polish regions.
This adverse situation is further exacerbated by migration patterns. Opole
Voivodeship has the highest ratio of emigrants and one third of these are
educated young people. According to projections, the region’s population
will decrease by 12% until 2035, and the population will significantly age,
which can create further social and economic difficulties (Urząd Marszał-
18
kowski Województwa Opolskiego 2013). Olomouc region has a population
of 636 thousand people, which is 6% of the Czech population. We identify
similar demographic problem here too, even though we do not encounter
such a high a level of migration. According to estimates, the population
will drop 4% by 2030.
57% of the Olomouc region population lives in urban areas. The six
smallest cities do not even reach 2 thousand inhabitants and only nine
have a population higher than 10 thousand. Likewise, 52% of the Opole
Voivodeship’s inhabitants live in urban areas. The two smallest cities have
a population of less than 2 thousand and only Opole and Kędzierzyn-Koźle
have more than fifty thousand people.
Two largest cities in our regions of interest, Opole and Olomouc, are
the administrative centres of their regions, whose territorial demarcation
was based on administrative reform in the late 1990s. Opole is an important historical centre of Upper Silesia, while Olomouc is a former capital
of Moravia. Both cities are also regional centres of employment and of
social and cultural life. Other than their administrative, socio-economic
and political role, both cities are also university cities with a long-standing tradition and rich history. Yet, from a European as well as a national
perspective, they are only minor players in political decision-making and
social development trends. Olomouc is the sixth largest city in the Czech
Republic, Opole the 31st largest in Poland. As with their upper administrative
influence, their population has been decreasing over time, which is caused
by the above mentioned demographic factors but also by suburbanization. Both cities face problems related to high unemployment rates. By the
end of the year 2013, the unemployment rate in the city of Opole was 7%
(14% for the Opole district as a whole) and in the city of Olomouc 8.5%
(and also 8.5% across the entire district). The unemployment in the other
examined cities is even higher (CZSO 2013, WUP 2013).
As stated above, Opole lies in the historical region of Silesia. The Czech
city Jeseník also lies in Silesia and together with Nysa and Głuchołazy was
part of the Duchy of Neisse. The Czech cities Prostějov, Šumperk and Přerov are situated along with Olomouc in Moravia. Both, Moravia and Silesia
share a common past, as they have been on more than one occasion part of
the same political unit. The share also a strong influence of German culture
in the past in both regions. We therefore believe that also in this regard
19
they are suitable subjects for a comparative analysis that will illustrate the
development of governance in central Europe.1
Figure 1. Cities of the Olomouc Region and Opole Voivodeship
POLAND
OPOLE
Nysa
Jeseník
Głucholazy
Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Głogówek
Šumperk
OLOMOUC
Prostějov
CZECH
REPUBLIC
Přerov
Source: Authors, map based on a tamplate by the Czech Statistical Office
Urban governance in Moravian and Silesian cities
We traditionally consider cities to be cradles of democracy and we connect
them with deliberations on the further development of democratic theory
and political praxis (Dahl 1967). For example, Barber (2013) asserts that
cities are, unlike nation states, managed effectively and in a democratic
1
Moreover, both regions have approximately the same results, as far as the quality of
government (EU Quality of Government Index) is concerned. See European Commission 2012.
20
way and they should thus assume a leading role in ruling the world. He
argues that our world is interconnected – we have diseases without borders, doctors without borders, technologies without borders. The only
thing missing are citizens and democracy without borders. The solutions
are not international organizations or nation states because they are not
prepared for the new global challenges. European cities connect workers
and consumers, are cultural centres and centres of major economic activity. Most of Europe’s GDP is produced in big cities, which also manage
current economic problems more successfully. Barber also highlights that
cities are the source of global problems but also opines that they will be
able to solve them successfully.
Hambelton and Ross (2007), Rao (2007) or Barber (2013) study big cities and the world’s metropolises, focusing on the development and transformation of cities in connection with the processes of modernization and
globalization. The subject matter of their interests are, though, big cities
and world metropolises. We can observe a steadily growing political and
economic importance of largest cities and metropolitan areas. However, we
believe that it is important to ask also about the role of medium-sized cities in the new EU member states, including the Moravian cities Olomouc,
Prostějov, Přerov, and Šumperk, and the Silesian cities Jeseník, Głogówek,
Głuchołazy, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Nysa and Opole. Their role in the global
economy is negligible but they are the backbones of the territorial structure
in their respective countries and they play an important role in broader
regional development. Our volume therefore offers a perspective on these
selected regions in central Europe.
This publication studies urban politics in small and medium-sized cities. For over quarter of a century, they have been developing a system of
self-government, which has become one of the key foundations of the now
completed process of democratisation. We could argue like Horak (2007)
did in his work on Czech metropolis Prague that most cities we examined
showed in the 1990s weak governance results, which was caused by the
establishment of the institutional environment that led to a lack of coordination in the urban development and to the promotion of simple and
short-term goals and solutions without considering long-term impacts in
implementing individual policies. The institutional incoherence that prevailed at the moment best suited for significant reform led to a very weak
21
administrative and governance output. A technical concept of politics and
expertise endured throughout the entire period, which then impeded the
direct participation of citizens in governance.
Following this problematic original stage of renewing self-government,
consolidating the system of representation at local level and the processes
of managing self-governing authority, civil society at the urban level gradually matured, which should have bolstered the formation of a stable,
participatory political culture.
It is generally assumed that the consolidation of political culture in the
Czech Republic and Poland has been completed (Merkel 2008:19) and that
both countries can be considered fully democratic. As Attila Ágh (2009: 76)
points out, however, noting especially the low voter turnout, social consolidation has a long journey ahead and the countries of Central and Eastern
Europe are undergoing a political crisis. Paul Blokker (2013) believes that
the reason for the democratic crisis in these countries lies in their form of
constitutionalism, mainly their rigid constitutions and institutions, which
only allow limited involvement of politically-minded community members in political processes and the formation of social rules and values.
Although the Czech Republic and Poland have set up rules for organizing
referenda on a local level (Schiller 2011), these are not sufficiently utilized.
The level of political participation is low. We observe very low voter
turnout in local elections and sporadic use (or on the contrary abuse) of
direct participation tools (local referendums) and low citizen interest in
governance. Yet, these factors are not only symptomatic of the new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe (Heinelt, Sweeting, Getimis
2006). We cannot conclusively talk about democratic governance in the
examined cities due to the non-existence of effective participatory tools
and the attitudes of relevant actors towards fully-fledged partnership and
joint decision making.
Despite these negative facts, most inhabitants of Poland and the Czech
Republic trust their elected representative bodies more than their elected
representatives in Parliament (CVVM 2013b; CBOS 2012b). Third sector
organisations are active in both countries and seek to establish the broadest
possible citizen involvement in governance and to increase transparency
and accountability of self-government. We can, however, expect a gradual
establishment of a governance model which would on the one hand be
22
effective while on the other legitimately involve all concerned parties and
strengthen the local community.
Comparative research in urban studies.
The case of Central European cities
With the beginning of democratic transformation and the restoration of
regional and local government in Central Europe, investigations into the
transformation and development of local elites, management and administration of new institutions, and the content of public policies on a local level
gradually emerged. Most works focused on the reforms of regional and local
government after the centralised system of administration was abandoned
(Péteri 1991; Andrusz et al. 1996; Horváth 2000; Kersting, Vetter 2003).
Other publications reflected on the development of local politics after
the consolidation of democracy and local and regional government (Baldersheim, Illner, Wollmann 2003; Soós, Tóka, Wright 2002; Soós, Zentai
2005; Lazin et al. 2007; Swianiewicz 2010) and they focused on the impact
of Central European countries’ engagement with globalization, European
integration, and on a more general level with mainstream Western local
democracy (Campbell and Coulson 2008; Klimovský, Radzik-Maruszak
2012). Apart from generalizing analyses, we have also seen case studies of
specific cities (Kukliński 2004, Horak 2007) or metropolitan areas (Swianiewicz, Klimska 2005). Haus, Heinelt and Stewart (2005) and also Eckardt
and Elander (2009) examined aspects of local politics in connection with
moves towards democratic urban governance and pointed out the specific
development of governance in Central European cities after the period of
state socialism. This term is after all also used in works which are not primarily concerned with political aspects but with city development, urbanization, privatization, etc. (Stanilov 2007; Tsenkova, Nedović-Budić 2006).
A pioneering act in the field of studying sociological aspects of local
democracy (based on the study of elected representatives) became an international research project called Local Democracy and Innovation (Baldersheim et al. 1996), which continued in the late 1990s with a project called
Local Democracy and Innovation II: Mapping Institutional Performance
(Baldersheim, Illner, Wollmann 2003). In the following stage, studies of
Central European countries became part of Europe-wide research projects
23
titled Political leaders in European cities (Bäck, Heinelt, Magnier 2006) and
Municipal Assemblies in European Local Governance, which focused on
mayors and members of representative bodies in European cities (Egner,
Sweeting, Klok 2013).
Even though, for example, Polish political scientists were able to continue in the older tradition of local politics research (Wiatr 1986, 1987; Bartkowski 1996), it was not until they joined the international research teams
that they could establish their own research tradition in both countries
(Swianiewicz, Mielczarek, Ryšavý, Šaradín and others). This volume continues their work and focuses on smaller cities in the regions of Moravia
and Silesia in Poland and the Czech Republic.
About the book
The purpose of this publication is to present and analyse the development
of democratic governance in selected cities of Opole Voivodeship and the
Olomouc Region, compare the institutional arrangement of their local governments and to demonstrate the current forms of urban governance and
city identity. We focus on two regional self-governing units in the Czech
Republic and Poland. We believe that despite some regional specifics, we
can apply these analogically obtained data to other middle-size cities in
other regions of both countries.
The volume draws on theoretical and empirical research and is divided
into four parts. Part one deals with the theoretical foundations of urban
governance in Central European countries. Lech Rubisz reflects on democratic governance in cities and offers several generalizing hypotheses.
Chapters in part two introduce and analyse Polish cities. Part three is analogically dedicated to Czech cities.
Most chapters are designed so that we could make comparisons of their
individual aspects in both countries. Thus Piotr Klimontowski and Pavel
Šaradín present the legal framework of local government in Poland and the
Czech Republic. Bożena Wroniszewska and Michal Kuděla focus on political competition in selected cities since 1990. They follow the development of
electoral systems and analyse the results of successive city council elections.
Aleksandra Trzcielińska-Polus, Danuta Kisielewicz, Piotr Bujak and Karel
Páral present in their works the social and economic characteristics of the
24
two regions and their cities, and they highlight the significant moments
that determined their identity. Ewa Ganowicz and Radomir Sztwiertnia
analyse civil society and its participation in local politics. Adam Drosik
offers in his chapter a view of the media image of selected cities in Opole
Voivodeship. The final section presents the results of empirical research
carried out among political representatives from ten cities in both regions.
The book is concluded by Pavel Šaradín who analyses the attitudes of the
representatives from ten cities in both regions towards the prospects of
citizen involvement and to possible reforms of local government.
2 Municipal democracy or democratic governance in cities? Axiological and procedural aspects 25
2 MUNICIPAL DEMOCRACY OR DEMOCRATIC
GOVERNANCE IN CITIES? AXIOLOGICAL AND
PROCEDURAL ASPECTS
Lech Rubisz
In his latest book, “If Mayors Ruled the World. Dysfunctional Nations.
Rising Cities” (2013) Benjamin Barber, the author of several high-profile
publications on the intricacies of modern democracy, puts forward the
thesis that democracy should return to where it was born – to the cities.
According to the author, that is what should happen, because nation-states are unable to meet the global challenges of today: global warming,
economic crises, terrorism, epidemics, etc. The obstacle is the traditional
political dimension of states and international organisations that is attributed to them. This includes closely guarded sovereignty, borders, separate
legal and economic systems, and the pressure of domestic interest groups.
Democracy should be reborn in the cities, not only because of the lack of
driving force of states on the international scale, but also because its current, state-national model has lost its original values, such as immediacy,
representativeness, deliberateness, or social participation. Democracy at the
national level is increasingly dominated by electoral rivalry, which becomes
a kind of technology rather than the usual process and the exercising of
power, the particularism of political parties, and ideology. It is therefore
subjected to a process of progressive social alienation. On these issues, Barber says in an interview, “There is a surprisingly optimistic answer and it is
not wishful thinking, but results from observation. Of all the institutions
only one really works, and it’s everywhere, regardless of differences, such as
how to elect local authorities. It is the city” (Wężyk 2013: 12). According to
Barber, cities, which were always the centres of cultural and technological
progress, are now the future of democracy.
26
This is the point at which you can already put Barber’s book aside. It
was only a pretext, an introduction to the wider considerations, of modern
democracy, and especially, of the theory and practice of its local, in this
particular case, municipal incarnation. It is worth noting that the ideas expounded in the book are not entirely new. This applies to the idea, which
is leading us both to seek in the democratic system a historic alliance between ideals and effectiveness, a way to reconcile efficiency in government
with the socialisation of exercising power, as well as to the concept, that
local democracy, in this case municipal, recognises as the recipe for the
crisis of the democracy of the nation-state. From the very beginning, that
is, from the nineteenth century until later stages of modern democracy,
political ideologies and political science have spoken of a crisis. They preach
the necessity of repairing it or make forecasts about the directions of its
development. Praise for local democracy in opposition to state (political)
democracy is not a new idea either. The endless discussion on the condition of democracy, which it will probably never be possible to bring to a
conclusion, falls into the category of discussion for the sake of discussion.
However, this does not mean it is an unproductive matter. This allows us
not only to deepen our knowledge of the system and the system of values,
but also to deepen and continually upgrade our understanding of them.
Democratic governance in cities rather than
municipal democracy
I do not support the activities that involve the addition to the word “democracy” of different adjectives, such as, in our case, municipal democracy
and local democracy, firstly, because in the social sciences or in journalism,
they have become very overused, being a pretext for their authors to announce the end of any era and the beginning of another one, and secondly, because they lead to the extraction of some types of democracy, from
which it is only a step to ideological and political abuse.
At least since the second half of the twentieth century there have been
more and more new books on the publishing market whose authors say
that today we are witnessing a breakthrough, we are at the turning point,
and that some ideas are disappearing gradually and the current state is
over and the new one is coming. Usually, a new term also appears and en-
ters into circulation in the social sciences on this occasion. Reading these
writings gives the impression that the story of politics and society consists
solely of permanently ongoing crises.
It is worth noting that in the last 25 years an increase in the number
of publications constructed according to the scheme of a diagnosis of the
current state of crisis followed by an announcement of the coming of a
new era has been observed. And only a few of them have withstood the
test of time; this applies to diagnoses-and-forecasts both on the macro level and the micro level. But it would be unfair to suspect that the aim of
the “preachers of age-long breakthroughs” is profitable popularity, or the
intention to make their mark on the history of the social sciences by means
of numerous citations. It seems that they (we) are directed primarily by a
nostalgia for the great discoveries that formed progress in science, which
confirm the scientific nature of the social sciences, and thus make of science a useful activity. In the social sciences it is difficult to achieve some
great discovery, and so these are most probably attempts to escape from a
complex about not being completely scientific. Therefore, it is difficult to
say that a new era of democracy is coming, such as a municipal (urban)
one that would replace state-level democracy, or at least to unburden it,
so as to solve all the problems.
Drawing a distinction between different types of democracy with adjectives that aim to give it a new meaning and to discover previously unknown
content is as old as democracy itself. The “merits” in this area are both political ideologies and political sciences. The first of these, usually stating
the existence of a crisis of the existing democracy, or its dysfunctionality
in terms of their ideological or political goals, gave a new meaning to the
democratic idea and created, for example, such terms as social democracy, Christian democracy, national democracy, popular democracy, liberal
democracy, and the like. The latter, however, describing and explaining the
political reality, have discovered, at some time or place, that certain procedural aspects of the principles of democracy are of special importance,
and thus the following terms came into public circulation: deliberative
democracy, participatory democracy, representative democracy, vertical
democracy, procedural democracy, electoral democracy, etc. (Sartori 1987).
How different is the meaning of complementing the mechanism of democracy presented by the political ideology from the mechanism of com-
28
plementing its content by the political science? The difference is significant;
in both cases it is based on different intentions and consequences. When
it comes to intentions, the political ideologies seek to change the world,
and in principle the political science wants just to describe and explain
it. When it comes to the effects, political ideologies require the historical
necessity to make changes (often against the will of the minority or the
majority), and the political science takes as an assumption only the presumed possibility of making changes. At the theoretical level the differences
are clear, and therefore quite easy to demonstrate. In practice, however, it
is sometimes different; the sociology of knowledge tells us that it is difficult
to distinguish between ideology and science (Mannheim 1992). Among
the ideologists there have always been many scientific theoreticians, just
as many scientific theoreticians have manifested the temperament of an
ideologist. One cannot ignore the fact that science and ideology and their
socio-political evaluations of reality dress in confusingly similar (diagnosis
and prognosis) methodological clothes.
Assuming these observations to be justified, in the summary of this
thread it should again be noted that it does not seem that modern democracy is at a particular stage of its crisis, and nor does there seem to any
particular breakthrough. It does not seem that this “urban democracy,” as
stated by Barber, was supposed to save, or more, replace the democracy
of the nation-state. With the exception of the mere existence of the term,
there is no such thing as “urban democracy.” However, democratic governance in cities is one of the axiological and procedural incarnations of
democracy, adapted to a certain space and time.
The fascination with the city
It is difficult to prejudge whether the fascination with the city that lasted
for more than two decades will become a permanent or temporary fashion
trend that comes as usual after praise for life in the countryside. It seems
that this time it is more than the dispute between the city and the countryside (which has been present in the culture since time immemorial) in
terms of the question of the primacy of values and lifestyles, which is in
fact part of the eternal dispute between progress and tradition. The role
intended for use in relation to the city includes more than just its being
the vanguard of civilisation. Cities are presented as different from the states, and democratic governance in cities is different to political democracy. Within this opposition, but not disclosed, an anti-political attitude is
strongly present. Its source lies in the political crisis of confidence in traditional political institutions. Urban governance in anti-political environment is better in terms of quality, because it is socialised. Revolutions in
history usually take place in the cities, while revolts have occurred in the
countryside. Now it is foreseen that a rebellion of the cities will probably
come, that their self-governing autonomy will turn into full independence and, even if they do not free themselves completely from the existing
political systems, they will at least create a parallel structure. B. Barber
(2013: 336–359) suggests and predicts the creation of a global parliament
of mayors which would be a soft power, an arena for exchanging ideas and
proposing solutions to global issues and practical ideas for the organisation of urban life. Is this only a utopian idea proposed by intellectuals and
is it backed up with concrete facts? Without prejudging the answer to this
question, one can mention such facts.
Let us start with the soft ones. A couple of years ago, for the first time
in history, the urban population exceeded half the world’s population. In
Western countries almost 80 % of people now live in cities; it may be the
democratic legitimacy for this specific majority on a global scale. In the
recent global economic crisis, as a result of the wave of disappointment
with the impotence of countries, urban movements were formed and become active in which an important role was played by the indignant precariat. The reasons for this indignation across the world were different and
the indignation itself was impermanent, but outraged protests against the
financial markets in New York, against the destruction of green areas in
Istanbul, or against the ACTA arrangement in Warsaw perhaps gave birth
to a group consciousness, that of the new bourgeoisie. The hard facts are
more meaningful. Cities join to form networks and alternative horizontal
structures or even aim to fight for more autonomy from the authority of
the government.
The ideas underlying the fascination of the city also have their weaknesses, which can undoubtedly turn them in the direction of the historical
collection of intellectual utopias. These weaknesses are easy to demonstrate, based on theory of the social sciences, and are proven in practice as
30
well. First of all, at the level of a student of Social Studies it can easily be
shown that this declared position of the city’s governance being apolitical
and displaying a lack of ideology is only possible because the solving (it
should be noted – solving, not resolving) of some problems is taken over by
the state. And these are problems of an objective nature, not ones created
by the State, as proponents of democracy and self-government, fascinated
by the phenomenon, often try to demonstrate. Network organisations of
cities can only work under the false assumption that the interests of all
cities can be identical. As this is not possible, the very instant of their satisfaction will reveal the particularism protected by municipal sovereignty.
Self-governing democracy can be “closer to the people” because it only
defines the rules for the distribution of deficit goods in a marginal way.
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was right to say that the building
of the water supply is not the colour of either the Republicans or the Democrats. Indeed, the city can be apolitical here because conflicting laws
on social assistance, insurance, healthcare, and taxes in such a heavily
criticised ideological and political dispute are adopted by the Republicans
and Democrats in Congress. The fascination of the city reveals its hidden
ideological and political potential at the stage at which the social role of
the city and its internal order are defined.
It is easy to demonstrate this by referring to the two visions presented
in two books: Richard Florida’s The Rise of the Creative Class (2002) and
David Harvey’s Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution (2012). In the case of the first author, a neo-liberal view clearly
dominates, while in the case of the second one it is leftist (socialist). Florida’s fascination with the city is combined with the class of creative people
who are living in them and gaining increasing importance. In his opinion,
this new middle class determines the present-day significance of cities as
incubators of innovation: new technologies, creative ideas, and original
ways of life. The creative class is the hope of today’s cities and their future strength, and therefore the city authorities should create conditions to
attract creative managers, artists, media people, and scientists, and also
support luxury residential and office buildings and create conditions for
leisure time. Some of the benefits belonging to the creative class would
have a “trickle-down” effect on the other people – government employees
and the service sector – and thus contribute to their enrichment. People
do not want to govern, they just want to be well governed, and people
do not expect co-decision on the colour of the benches in the city park,
preferring to deal with planning their weekend activities; precisely this
popular logic of neo-liberalism is in fact reflected in Florida’s ideas. The
left-wing critics immediately pointed out the weakness of such thinking.
They argued that the cities no longer serve the people, they have become
businesses. They are creating enclaves of infrastructural luxury that are
pushing up real estate prices. The middle and lower classes cannot afford
the exorbitant rents, and existing townspeople are pushed out of the cities.
This part of the wealth of the creative class dripping down to them must
be allocated to cover the rising cost of living. They are like beggars who
are newly settled in Mumbai, who are richer than they were when living
in the countryside, but still remain paupers.
In 2002, when Florida wrote his book, neo-liberal thinking reigned
supreme, but then his future antagonist Harvey (2012: 39) argued that capitalism is a “disgusting excrescence of human lust, greed and shameless
exploitation.” Currently, Harvey is considered to be the greatest of the
“urban thinkers,” a guru of the activists of the new urban movements. He
announces the rebellion of the cities in the name of the principle that people want to rule and not to entrust their fate to the hands of big-headed
officials or managers. Only in that way is it possible to invest in social
capital rather than in group creative capital. Harvey calls on people to go
out into the street, create a civic society, and demand broad participation.
However, those intellectuals of different options and the ideological
activists of urban movements who are fascinated by the city have not managed to escape from politics and ideology. What they do not like in the
functioning of state institutions and unites them against democratic politics at the state level catches up with them when they go on to the stage
of methods to implement their vision. However, this should not invalidate
the argument that democratic governance in urban areas is characterised
by certain specific features that differentiate this level of democracy from
the level of democracy of the nation-state.
32
Democratic governance in cities – determinants and
characteristics
It is extremely difficult to build a generalisation for such a diversified
phenomenon as democratic governance in cities, because cities operate
in the different legal and administrative systems and political realities of
each country. They differ in the types of forms of election of the municipal
authorities, their relationship to the power of government and the scope of
the competences conferred on local government, as well as the traditions
and the types of political culture. A catalogue of features of democratic
governance in the cities of a particular country would obviously be easier
to write (Ganowicz, Rubisz 2008; Balík 2009). It does not mean, however,
that an attempt at global generalisation will be impossible. It should be
stipulated that it is not based on systematic and comprehensive empirical
material but on fragmentary studies and intuition. Thus it is necessary to
adopt a formula of cautious hypotheses, not theorems.
1. Urban governance is more meritocratic than the exercising of power
at the central level. It is more governance than the exercising of power.
Urban governance focuses on solving specific problems that directly
affect individual people and small groups. Hence it is a governance “in
close proximity to the people.” The mayor or councillor is not separated
from the voters, whether by a circle of protection, intermediate offices,
or procedures, as the Prime Minister or Member of Parliament is. Of
course, an increase in the size of the city increases the distance of direct communication, but it is noticeable, that the mayors of the largest
cities, and not only during the election campaign, try to get closer to
their voters. Through solving specific problems, proximity to voters,
substantive debate, rivalry, and decision making, the governance of a
city creates an image of democracy without politics and ideology. Most
people view these qualities favourably, because the political arena is associated with an absolute struggle for power and ideology with futile
disputes.
2. In municipal governance the will of the democratic majority is not as
significant a driving force as it is at the state level. The executive segment
of the local government, in contrast to the national one, has not got
such powerful institutions and powers either. All imperious government
actions are rather limited to decisions and actions related to provide
an order. This is due to the position of local government in political
and legal systems. It is limited in its ability to make laws to a relatively
narrow range of local laws. The result is that the city governance makes
great ideological visions or the existence of some political breakthroughs
resulting in a change in the existing order impossible to implement. In
short, a city government is not likely to spoil much structurally, but it
has some executive capabilities for improving everyday life in a noticeable way.
3. Political parties are involved in local governance to a smaller extent.
Both, in the Czech Republic and in Poland their importance decreases
along with the size of the city. Moreover, in Poland it often happens
that mayors and councillors resign their party membership during an
election. In the urban competition for governance, the dominant form
of the representation of interests is associations, their local electoral
committees, and – often quite ephemeral – pressure groups.
4. Leaders and parties who compete with each other on the urban scene
often occupy a single position in conflict situations, which fits into the
traditional centre-periphery division. Identification with the particular
interests of the city is stronger than policy implementation by the party
headquarters. It is characteristic that the local particularism shown by
local leaders is seen and understood by politicians on the government-parliamentary level.
5. Urban policy, or local policy in general, is not affected as much by medialisation as is the case with politics at the central level. Communication
with the public on a daily basis and during the elections is more direct.
Other factors in this connection are the expectations of local opinion
in connection with their leaders and their career patterns or behaviour.
Part II
36
3 THE REGION OF OPOLE AND THE ROLE OF
SELECTED CITIES
Aleksandra Trzcielińska-Polus
Opole Silesia is a typical border region. Its significant metamorphosis, which has been ongoing for centuries, is of note. The contemporary
picture of the Opole region is the result of a number of changes relating
to nationality and the transformations of its administrative structure. It is
somehow inherently predisposed to act as a bridge between countries, to
establish and develop both efficient inter-regional contacts and local international partnership. Its geographical location and centuries-long tradition
of being a border region, creating conditions conducive to the interaction
of different cultures, religions, customs and languages, has led to the formation of a differentiated identity of the local population. Opole Silesia
is the smallest administrative region or voivodeship in Poland in terms of
area (9,412 km2, i.e. 3% of the country) and according to the last national
census it also occupies the last place in terms of the size of the population
(1,016,000 people – 2.6% of the population). Its cities are home to more
than 532,000 inhabitants (52.4%), while 484,000 (47.6%) live in rural areas
of the region (USTAT 2013b: 27).
Administratively, the Voivodeship of Opole is divided into 12 districts,
including one city with district status (Opole), and 71 communes (3 urban
municipalities and 32 urban-rural and 36 rural municipalities).
Opole Silesia is historically a part of Upper Silesia. However, as a result
of the territorial division made after the Plebiscite in 1921, whose outcome
for many years – until 1945 – made the Upper Silesian subregion a part of
the German State and the German cultural community, it has many different features in comparison with the industrial, urbanised part of Upper
Silesia (Katowice).
3 The region of Opole and the role of selected cities 37
It should also be noted that the two districts of Brzeg and of Namysłów,
which are historically associated with Lower Silesia, still seem to be more
strongly associated with Wrocław than with Opole despite decades of belonging administratively to the Opole Voivodeship.
The Opole region (with its varying territorial scope and changing nationality) has been a separate and autonomous administrative unit with its
capital in Opole since time immemorial (as the Duchy of Opole during
the Dynasty of the Piasts, then as the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz, as
a regency province between the years 1816–1918, from 1922 with the rank
of a Voivodeship of Upper Silesia, and finally, since 1950, as the Opole
Voivodeship).
The projects of the administrative reforms of 1998 proposed to eliminate
the voivodeship of Opole, dividing its territory between the provinces of
Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia. In 1998, the society of Opole Silesia, convinced that their historical and ethno-nationalistic premises determined
the specific nature and autonomy of the region, raised their objections,
demanding the maintenance of the voivodeship, in a spirit of solidarity
and with great determination.
The specific nature of Opole Silesia
The unique character of Opole Silesia resulted mainly from the fact that
it is a border area in two ways. First, it is a part of the geographical Polish-Czech borderland (Polish-Czech border regions). Second, it is also
an internal socio-ethnic and socio-cultural German-Polish border region.
The Opole region contains diverse nationalities and ethnicities. This is a
genuine contact area permitting the mutual penetration of different cultures and traditions – mainly Polish and German culture, and in the past
also Czech (Moravian) and Jewish.
Opole Silesia is a multicultural region, inhabited by the indigenous population of Silesia, a population of German nationality, and people from
many other parts of Poland, including a large group of people (today
mostly their descendants) from the eastern provinces of the Second Polish
Republic, who are currently very vocal in articulating their identity (and
attachment to their traditions).
38
In the region of Opole, during the General National Census of 2011 more
than 106,000 people (10.5%) declared a Silesian national-ethnic affiliation,
of whom 41,000 indicated that they were exclusively Silesian and 39,500
that they were Silesian-Polish (USTAT 2013b: 60). More than 78,000 inhabitants of Opole (7.7%), according to the census, are of German nationality,
which accounts for over half (53.2%) of all those Polish citizens who declare
a German national and ethnic affiliation. It should be emphasised that as
many as 120,100 people in the Opole Voivodeship have dual German and
Polish citizenship (ibid.: 57). In the 36 communes in the Opole Voivodeship, the percentage of people declaring a national and ethnic affiliation
other than Polish during the census of 2011 was at least 10% (GUS 2013:4).
One consequence of such national and ethnic diversity is the desire of
minority representatives to exercise power at the regional and local level,
which was realised during the democratic transformation in the 1980s and
1990s. The Opole region is a leader in the country with respect to its foreign
emigration rate (both in absolute terms and in relation to the population of
the region). In 2002, there were nearly 99 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants.
On the basis of the national census of 2011, it was found that this ratio
had increased to 106.2 (the national average was 53.4). The census data also
shows that most residents of the Opole region go to Germany (43,900),
the UK (7,900), the Netherlands (6,700), and Ireland (Świderski 2012).
The Opole region is suffering from the effects of aging and depopulation.
The average fertility rate in the region is about 1.14 children. With respect
to the balance and migration rates, as stated above, the Opole Voivodeship currently occupies a disgraceful first place in Poland. The average age
of a statistical inhabitant of the voivodeship was higher than the national
average (38.1 years) at 39.6 years, the percentage of people aged over 65
years was 14.2%, increasing from year to year, while the percentage of the
population who are not yet of working age has been decreasing dramatically (from 22.7% in 2002 to 17% in 2011) (USTAT 2013b: 32–35).
Industry plays an important role in the economy of the Opole region.
The highest share of industrial production (over 13%) belongs to the food
industry, which employs the largest number of members of the active population in the region. The second place (more than 11% of the region’s
production) is occupied by the chemical industry, which has significant
research facilities (the “Blachownia” Institute of Heavy Organic Synthesis
in Kędzierzyn-Koźle). The third most important branch of production is
activities related to the manufacturing of products with the use of non-metallic materials (11% of production in the region). This is the cement
and lime industry, the production of concrete and plaster, glass production, the production of glass products, and the furniture industry. Another
important industrial sector in the region is the metal industry. The Opole
Voivodeship is also one of the major energy-producing regions in Poland
(Opole Power Station).
There is significant growth potential in the region for agriculture. Factors determining the role of agriculture are favourable terrain, favourable
climatic conditions, modern agricultural practices, and the good quality of
the soils. In terms of the yield of cereals, oilseed rape, turnips, and sugar
beet, the Opole region is a leader in Poland. The Opole agricultural sector
is characterised by its relatively high competitiveness in comparison with
other Polish regions.
The region of Opole also has conditions for the development of tourism,
including agricultural tourism. The presence of paleontological excavations
of international rank (JuraPark in Krasiejów) and geological treasures (e.g.
the Mount St. Anna Geopark) needs to be emphasised.
The negative characteristics of the Opole region include the weakness
of the service sector, especially in market services (the lowest market share
in the country of services in terms of gross value added), and the low level
of innovativeness of the economy, mainly related to the weakness of R&D
(expenditure on R&D per capita is among the lowest in the country). The
low level of foreign investment in the region should also be noted.
However, despite the relatively low economic growth, high unemployment, and depopulation of the region, the Opole region has a relatively
high standard of living, which is influenced by the foreign labour migration
of the population and income transferred here by them.
Cities of the Opole region
In the Opole Voivodeship there are 35 cities, including Opole, the capital
of the region and a city with district rights. They are not big, taking into
account the number of people (most have less than 10 thousand inhabitants). Among the cities examined in this paper Kędzierzyn-Koźle has
40
about 64,000 residents, Nysa more than 45,000, Głuchołazy about 15,000,
and Głogówek less than 6,000 (USTAT 2013a: 6–8).
In addition to a diverse population, each of these cities has a different
history and identity, and thus they differ from one another with regard to
the national-ethnic and cultural structure of the population and have a distinct and unique character and image. Some of their functions are identical,
others are characteristic only of the particular city and are linked closely
with its specific features. The factors that either determine the common
characteristics of the cities of the Opole region, or cause the differentiation
of roles of the cities are listed in a table below.
Table 1. Factors affecting the identity and functions of the cities of Opole
Voivodeship
common characteristics of the cities
factors of differentiation of the cities
• the complicated history of the Opole
region;
• the level of industrialisation and the
degree of concentration of the network
of services;
• the location of the region on the geographical Czech-Polish border and the historical Polish-German ethno-cultural border;
• the multi-cultural tangible and intangible
heritage of the region and its inhabitants;
• the different composition of the national-ethnic communities living in Opole Silesia
(the native Silesian population, a German
minority, and Polish people, including
people displaced from different regions of
Poland and people who migrated from the
former Eastern Borderlands);
• the current demographic collapse of the
region of Opole, as a result of, among
other factors, the mass emigration of
citizens in search of work and also the low
birth rate;
• intellectual potential, and the national,
ethnic, and cultural identity of the inhabitants (including primarily an awareness of
identity and the desire to preserve it);
• the level of integration of people (social
networks);
• the number and nature of scientific, cultural, educational, sports and health-related
institutions operating in the city;
• the quality of the local media;
• tourist attractions (or the lack of them);
• the level of unemployment;
• the agencies working in different cities,
and the way the cities are managed and
governed.
Source: Author’s own compilation.
The list of the factors affecting the identity and functions of the cities is
not exhaustive. However, the listed determinants are the main ones affecting the roles played by the individual cities in the region.
The main asset and wealth of the Opole region, and thus of the cities
located on its territory, is the multicultural nature of the historical, cultural,
linguistic, religious, and even culinary heritage of this land. The biggest
problems are the demographic structure of the region (its low population
growth and the rapid obsolescence of the population) and the mass migration abroad. While in other regions of Poland migration started mainly
after the entry of our country into the European Union, in the region of
Opole trips to Germany (permanent and temporary) occurred much earlier.
The main task of the local authorities in the various administrative
units should be meeting the needs of the local community, including improving the quality of their residents’ lives. Today the people responsible
for managing the cities in the Opole region have to face many challenges
that arise both from the characteristics of the region and from the need
to respond to the current economic and financial crisis, the ageing population, and the environmental degradation and natural disasters that increasingly haunt the region.
In order to face the challenges ahead and to respond positively to the
expectations of people, cities should:
1. create operational centres that are able to react quickly and effectively
to emergency situations (e.g. in the event of drastic changes in the weather);
2. organise multilateral assistance for the elderly in connection with the
problem of “orphanage of the elderly” when their children work (or
reside permanently) abroad;
3. contribute actively to the regional project called “Demographic Special
Zone” (the creation of nurseries and preschools, as well as creating various forms of assistance and support for large families);
4. protect and improve the environment, for example by reducing the
consumption of non-renewable energy sources and replacing them
with renewables, and through education (and even the application of
penalties) for the incineration of waste-secreting toxins;
5. manage waste efficiently;
6. organise urban transport and urban traffic management properly and
rationalise it: reduce congestion (e.g. through the construction of bypasses), create new parking spaces and increase safety on the streets
42
and roads, maintain road infrastructure in good condition, create new
cycle paths, etc.;
7. take care of public safety;
8. protect and rebuild the existing monuments in the city, and other items
of cultural heritage which can attract tourists and new residents;
9. create favourable conditions to attract investment (especially to increase
investment attractiveness for foreign capital);
10. ensure the participation of citizens in the process of formulating the
development strategies of cities, and to allow them to control the exercise of power in the city.
Analysis of selected cities of Opole Silesia
The main objective of this project is to identify the strengths and weaknesses
of the four cities that were examined and to determine what functions these
cities perform or should perform. The second objective is to determine, on
the one hand, the perception of residents and their evaluation and degree
of satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with governance in individual city, and
on the other hand to test the level of participation of citizens in the management of the city. Democratic urban governance should primarily be
transparent. The requirement of a democratic system is that power in public life is exercised transparently and in accordance with the expectations
of urban communities and the functioning of civil movements.
Kędzierzyn-Koźle is the second largest city of the Opole Voivodeship,
an important and dynamic industrial centre (with its dominant chemical
industry). In the following table strengths and weaknesses of the city are
presented.
Table 2. Strengths and weaknesses of Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Strengths
Weaknesses
• its convenient location (A4 motorway,
Oder River, international East-West railway
route);
• heavy environmental pollution (mostly of
the air);
• the Kędzierzyn-Koźle Industrial Park, whose shareholders are the large industrial
concerns of the city (“Kędzierzyn” SA Nitrogen Plant and “Blachownia” Holding);
• a network of vocational and secondary
schools, as well as branches of the University of Economics in Wrocław and the
Opole University of Technology and also
the Institute of Heavy Organic Synthesis;
• tourist attractions (e.g. the Koźle fortress);
• its position as a regional cultural
centre (e.g. the International Festival of
Non-professional Film);
• the uneven development of different parts
of the city;
• the damage that resulted from flooding
occurred several times in recent years;
• an unemployment rate of over 14% (May
2013);
• the problems reported by the Roma minority living in the city in large numbers and
the social tensions associated with this;
• political conflicts among local politics and
dissatisfaction with the urban government,
which resulted in unsuccessful referendum
to dismiss the mayor Tomasz Wantuła in
2013.
• its position as the regional sports centre
(the European Cup in the triathlon, volleyball matches of the team Mostostal Azoty
“Kędzierzyn”);
• its partnerships with cities in the Czech
Republic (Přerov) and Lithuania (Jonava).
Nysa is the third largest city of the Opole Voivodeship and one of the
oldest cities in Silesia, often called the “Silesian Rome.” The strengths and
weaknesses of the city are listed in the following table.
44
Table 3. Strengths and weaknesses of Nysa
Strengths
Weaknesses
• its geographical position in the Sudeten
Foreland, on Lake Nysa, in the valley of the
Nysa Kłodzka river, and other associated
advantages for tourism;
• its very high unemployment rate
(the highest rate in the region, more than
at 21% in May 2013);
• its industrial traditions (production of
‚Nysa‘ vehicles ) and the sub-zone of the
Nysa-Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone
„INVEST-PARK“ Ltd.;
• the relentless exodus.
• the damage caused by flooding;
• it is an academic centre, with the State
Higher Vocational School, the Professional
School of Business, and College of Theology and Humanities in Podkowa Leśna;
• the recognition of Nysa as an important
place on the international route of St.
Jacob;
• partnerships with numerous twin cities:
Lüdinghausen and Ingelheim (Germany),
Jeseník and Šumperk (Czech Republic),
Kołomyja (Ukraine), Taverny (France);
• it is a thriving cultural centre (e.g. the
Days of the Nysa Fortress, Jacob‘s Fair, the
Festival of Fire and Water, and others);
• numerous valuable historical monuments
(including a fortification dating from
Prussian times) and the multicultural
traditions.
Głuchołazy is a city on the border with the Czech Republic, in the foothills of Opava, and is a well-known health resort. Advantages of the city
along with the weaknesses requiring greater activity on the part of the
self-government are listed in the table 3.
Table 4. Strengths and weaknesses of Głuchołazy
Strengths
Weaknesses
• its landscape and natural environment
(the „Opava Mountains“ National Park,
protected by law, and the Valley of the
Golden Stream);
• weak business development;
• its sanatoria dealing with the diagnosis
and treatment of respiratory and cardiac
rehabilitation;
• the former mines and other valuable
monuments attract tourists;
• high unemployment;
• the depreciation and deterioration of its
infrastructure (in terms of housing and
recreational facilities, including swimming
pools, roads, and the infrastructure of the
sanatorium);
• air pollution, especially in winter.
• its position at the meeting point of Poland
ad the Czech Republic;
• effective cooperation with foreign partners
(Nieder-Olm in Germany and Jeseník,
Mikulovice, and Zlaté Hory in the Czech
Republic).
Głogówek, in turn, is a city known as “Little Berlin” (Kleinberlin) because of the relatively large number of people declaring German nationality. Table 5 presents its strengths and weaknesses.
46
Table 5. Strengths and weaknesses of Głogówek
Strengths
Weaknesses
• the rich cultural heritage and traditions of
the city (such as the stay in the castle in
Głogow of King Jan Kazimierz during the
Swedish invasion in 17th century and the
visit of Ludwig van Beethoven);
• the weak development of industry and
the lack of production facilities and thus a
high level of unemployment;
• a convenient location near major transportation routes);
• partner agreements with the city of Vrbno
(Czech Republic) and Rietberg (Germany);
• low population growth;
• low level of education;
• high rate of depopulation (especially
educated young people).
• a programme to attract investors (tax
exemptions for investors of strategic importance for the municipality,
administrative assistance to investors, the
greenfield investments;
• cultural events (the Silesian Festival of
Ludwig van Beethoven Music).
Conclusions
The most outstanding feature of Opole Silesia on the Polish map is the
variety of the population in terms of its national, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and high level of attention to the cultivation of its cultural and
historical heritage. Currently, we do not observe open conflicts in the region in this regard. However, national and ethnic diversity is reflected in
the local government at the regional level, in districts and municipalities.
In the cities in the Opole region analysed here relatively large differences in the level of economic, demographic, and social development can
be observed. Everywhere we notice the low level of the inflow of foreign
investment.
All four cities investigated here are centres with significant architectural and cultural value, but need some renovation work. There has been a
noticeable improvement in material assets, especially since 2004, in areas
such as buildings and road infrastructure, but examples of depreciated
buildings and poor-quality roads can still be found.
The activation of cross-border cooperation (particularly with the Czech
Republic) is in progress. This factor is particularly important for local centres located in the border area, which, until the time of transition, were
neglected and forgotten. The great activity in the field of international relations and cooperation with twinning partners should also be emphasised.
The most important problems in the cities examined here which their
authorities should face include: unemployment, an ageing population and
migration, and the economic migration of skilled labour resources as a
major barrier to the development of the cities and the region of Opole.
Permanent migration implies high social costs: a lack of involvement of
the migrants in the development of their small home settlements, and the
“double life” of migrants triggering an increase in the number of divorces
and behavioural problems in children.
To intensify the development of the region and these cities and overcome the current obstacles and problems, closer cooperation is needed
between the authorities of the cities and the residents in developing and
implementing development strategies. Improving the quality of life and
ensuring the prospects for local communities should be considered the
most important priorities.
48
4 THE IDENTITY OF THE CITY OF OPOLE
Danuta Kisielewicz, Piotr Bujak
Opole, the historical capital of Upper Silesia, is located at the crossroads
of many cultures and formed a part of many state organisms in the past.
For centuries the city was subjected to various types of treatment intended
to deform its identity. The identity of the city, as commonly understood,
consists of knowledge about it and the way it is perceived. However, this
approach to the subject is too simplistic. It can also lead to highly subjective evaluations and interpretations of some facts. An attempt to describe
the identity of the contemporary city of Opole requires, above all, a better
definition of the identity of the city, from a scientific point of view, and the
vital factors which make it up. In this chapter we undertake this task. We
focus on the factors that have shaped the genius loci of the city, especially
on collective historical experience, which is what distinguishes the city of
Opole from other urban centres located in different parts of Upper Silesia.
The issue of the development and functioning of cities can be considered on two levels. As pointed out by Ewa Rewers (2005: 297–298), the first
one is determined by specific administrative measures, completed urban
measures, and the architecture of the space. A reflection of this approach
is all that can be considered as rational and substantial at the same time.
This includes, inter alia, designing, building, and managing the urban centre in accordance with the standards that are specific to the cultural circle.
This level can be referred to as being the “polis.”
The second point of reference, called the metapolis, which is not always perceived and not by all, concerns emotive aspects related to the
functioning of the city and consists of both the individual and collective
processes of subjective and intersubjective experiences. On this level the
city becomes the subject of cultural cognition, as well as experiencing and
partly intuitive understanding. Finally, in this area opinions about the city
and its exclusive properties are created.
4 The identity of the city of Opole 49
The aforementioned metapolis consists of two terms. The first is topophilia, which is construed as a network of linkages and relations of a human
being to a place, which manifests itself in their subjective and emotional
relationship with it. Another important concept is the genius loci, thus the
spirit of the place. This category is a component of individual topophils
and should be marked by external features and facts or events related to a
particular location (Pirveli 2010: 221).
The coexistence of these two layers – the polis and metapolis – is inseparable. Both of them correlate with each other over the years of a city’s
existence. It can be concluded that the new spaces constantly bring new
emotions and relations, which, over the centuries, continually form some
new spaces and so the cycle continues. We argue that the course of this
cycle is the best expression of the city’s identity.
“Opole,” “Oppeln,” “Opolí,” or “Uopole” – the city located in the Silesian Lowlands, on the River Oder, has been called like that for centuries.
Even the multiplicity of names given to the city in the past indicates how
diverse its identity is and how often it was subjected to various transformations. However, it should be noted that the city’s origins are related to
the first-ever Polish dynasty, the Piasts, and this is expressed even today in
the city’s symbols, which are integral elements of the identity of the city.
The crest of Opole shows the Upper Silesian eagle on a blue background,
connected with half of a cross characterised by unstructured ends. The
colours of the city’s flag – yellow and blue – are also linked to the colour
scheme of the crest.
When it comes to the functional and spatial structure of Opole, and
thus the sphere of its polis, it has developed over many years. Among the
most important factors that the aforementioned structure of the city is
affected by, above all, should be noted its location, topography, and the
central functions influencing its development, which have changed over
the centuries. Something that is very important both now and in the past is
the fact that Opole is located on the River Oder, which over the years has
not only stimulated the city’s development, but has also created a serious
barrier to this process, because of the emerging periodical threat of flooding that is almost permanently inscribed in the mentality of the citizens
of Opole to this day (Opole 2009: 13).
50
It is believed that the moment in which the identity of contemporary
Opole started to crystallise was undoubtedly the period of political and
national dispute in Upper Silesia that covered the years 1919–1921. At that
time the dispute about the identity of the city and its citizens was an integral part of the political struggle between the Poles and Germans (Baron, Michalczyk, Witkowski 2011: 467). As a result of the Plebiscite of 1921
Opole remained within the borders of the German State. The city became
the capital of the Province of Upper Silesia, thereby gaining the nature of
a significant administrative centre, inhabited largely by officials.
It is noteworthy that in the interwar period there was a rapid development of Opole, and the emphasis was largely placed on the development
of its polis; for example, a stadium and a swimming pool were built, pavements were renovated, and the plumbing network was expanded. After
1933, when the Nazis came to political power in Germany, despite the fact
that the development of the polis was continued, a widespread contamination of the “metapolis” layer, which was pervaded by Nazi ideology, was
noticeable. Opole slowly started to take on a Nazi character, which was
not only reflected in the presence of Nazi symbols in its public spaces, but
was also manifested in the form of anti-Semitic activity, including acts of
violence (Pobóg-Lenartowicz 2010: 16). It should be noted, however, that
the support for the Nazis in Opole never reached a particularly high level,
and acts of terrorism or violence were rather initiated by the authorities
than being spontaneous.
In the case of Opole, as well as many other cities, the drama of World
War II brought about a massive destruction of its urban substance. It also
led to fundamental changes in the area of the metapolis. As noted by the
historian Dan Gawrecki, “After 1945, there was a fundamental change in
the meaning of identity in Upper Silesia. Among the most important factors is the change in the borders after World War II. There were also major
demographic changes after the expulsion of a large number of Germans
[...] in the Upper Silesian part of Silesia, which became a part of the Polish
state” (Gawrecki 2011: 71). These demographic changes also affected Opole.
For example, in the autumn of 1944, the population of the city was only
about 300 people, as because of the bombardments by the Allied forces,
everybody else decided to evacuate the city. After the war only some of
them returned (Pobóg-Lenartowicz 2010: 17).
The decomposition of the metapolis is also reflected in the results of
the General Cumulative Census carried out by the Polish People’s Republic in February 1946. According to this survey, the population of Opole
had dropped from about 53,000 in 1939 to 27,500 at the time of the survey (Szulc 1947). Since then, the city’s population has increased gradually.
In 1950, 78% of them were immigrants from other parts of Poland, while
only 22% of the population could be classified as indigenous people (Pobóg-Lenartowicz 2010: 17).
So the large percentage of migrants in the city strongly influenced
the transformation of its identity. The collision of Silesian culture and
the culture of the Borderland initially generated some difficulties. This is
particularly evident in the memories of displaced Poles from the Eastern
Borderlands annexed by Soviet Union. Zofia Dąbrowska, who came from
Stanisławów (now Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraine) and arrived in Opole in
May 1946, described her astonishment during her first moments in the city:
“We moved to the left, down Krakowska Street; it was hard just to walk,
because the street was burned and covered in debris, and thus we had to
walk along a narrow lane. We asked a woman dressed in Silesian national
costume how to get to the central station. She did not understand. It was
only when we started to imitate a locomotive that she guessed: Ah, Bahnhof!” (Bosakowska 2012: 4).
It should be noted that in postwar Opole the overwhelming number
of people who had come from other parts of Poland led to the gradual
displacement of most of the remnants of the German and Silesian city’s
identity from its public spaces. Something else which was also undoubtedly
of great influence in this matter was the harmful government policy of the
Polish People’s Republic on the so-called “Recovered Territories,” based on
depreciating regional and municipal ties in terms of their practical, political, ideological, and historical aspects (Trosiak 2010 : 5). The aim was to
destroy all types of identity on a lower level than the state and trigger an
aversion to them. Under the specific conditions of the ethnic differences in
Opole and the surrounding area, after World War II there were no larger
conflicts regarding nationality or ethnic issues; this did not arise from the
policy of the State, but from the smoothly running process of the assimilation of the populations and building its new social, family, neighbourly,
or regional ties (Rauziński 2012: 29).
52
The fact that after World War II the city of Opole began to acquire a
clearly Polish identity was determined by the natural actions of the authorities, such as establishing a Polish administration and education system and
institutions of higher education, the creation of various cultural entities,
and the organisation of Polish media. It is worth mentioning that in 1950,
as a result of the creation of the Silesia-Dąbrowski region, Opole became
the capital of the province of Opole.
After the war, the city developed particularly rapidly in the 1950s and
1960s. During this period – to be precise, in 1954 – it became an academic centre as a result of the transfer of the Higher School of Pedagogics
from Wrocław. From 1959 on, efforts were also made continually to create a technical academic institution in the city. They became a reality in
1966, when the Higher Vocational Technical School was converted into
the Higher School of Engineering in Opole. From the point of view of the
city’s identity, and scientific development in the entire region of Opole, the
reactivation in 1957 of the Silesian Institute as a scientific and research unit
was of special importance (Bereszyński 2012: 35).
An interesting opinion about the city was expressed by Jerzy Grotowski,
who came from Cracow and was the artistic director of the Opole Theatre
“13 Rows” in the years 1958–1964. In 1961, in an interview for the “Polish
Journal” he stated that “The City of Opole – ambitious and devoid of a
snobbish cafe and its influence and pressure – is probably a good place for
so-called laboratory work. When we started our adventure in Opole, we
had an average of eight viewers present at our shows. Well, now it is much
better [...].” He described the life of a theatre group in Opole as follows:
“We live in Opole just like hermits: contemplation, aesthetics, flagellation,
fasting (before the first day of each month). Sometimes some ... nativity
plays. In short – typical sectarian fanaticism” (Grotowski 1961: 7).
When Grotowski spoke these words, two processes – the consolidation
of the post-war identity of the city and overcoming the stereotype of Opole as a “sleepy town” – were already in progress. This was not only due to
the reconstruction of its destroyed industries and the setting up of new
ones but also because of the city’s expansion through a growing number
of new housing estates. An invaluable contribution to the formation of the
modern identity of Opole and the modernisation of the city was made by
Karol Musioł, the Chairman of the City Council in the years 1952–1965.
Many of the projects that were completed by him (including cinemas, the
indoor swimming pool, the ice rink, the zoo, and bridges to facilitate communication in the city) remain constant elements of the image of Opole
to this day (Zapotoczny 2013: 4).
However, the initiative of Karol Musioł that had the greatest impact
on the city’s identity was organising the Polish Song Festival in 1963, with
significant help from the popular radio journalists Jerzy Grygolunas and
Mateusz Święcicki (Zapotoczny 2013: 4). Thanks to this, in subsequent
years the city of Opole received the title of the honorary capital of Polish
Song, which has now been indirectly inscribed in the city’s identity as a
distinguishing feature of Opole for many years. This timeless importance
of the Polish Song Festival for the city’s identity was confirmed in 2009 by
the Institute IMAS survey that was conducted on the perception of Opole,
which shows that for 72% of the respondents the first association with the
city was connected with the festival (IMAS International 2009).
The process of absorbing of neighbouring villages by Opole was in progress until the mid-1970s. Thus, the city expanded to cover an area of 96
km2 and the number of citizens grew to over one hundred thousand. The
districts located furthest from the centre retained their rustic character for
a long time. It should be noted that Opole never became an industrial city.
Only temporarily did it play an important role in the economic structure of the Polish People’s Republic, as the dominant centre in the cement
industry (Bereszyński 2012: 34). This was the immediate cause of the fact
that there was only moderate involvement of trade unionists from Opole
in the anti-communist protests.
The turning point, both as regards the identity of the city and the whole
country, was 1989. Initially, the political transformation of the city resulted in serious difficulties, which included the bankruptcy of most of its
industrial plants. For example, of the four cement plants, today there are
only two (Pobóg-Lenartowicz 2010: 19). Regarding the political opinions of
the citizens of Opole at the beginning of democratisation in the country,
as in most other Polish cities, the elections in 1989 in Opole brought an
overwhelming victory for the candidates of the Civic Committee operating
under the banner of “Solidarity” (Bereszyński 2010: 4). The next elections in
Opole resulted in a shift of power. It was taken over by politicians associated
54
with, among others, the Democratic Left Alliance. Since 2006, the dominant political force in the municipal government has been Civic Platform.
The main incentive which shaped the contemporary identity of Opole
was not the national-ethnic situation in the city. This factor of the 1950s
began progressively to lose its importance as a result of the gradual increase in the population of people born after World War II, and so raised
in Poland. Currently, with the percentage of people born after World War
II in Opole exceeding 85%, this factor seems to have become completely
irrelevant (Rauziński 2012: 29).
A significant formative event for the identity of Opole was certainly the
wave of social protests that flooded the city in 1998 because of the planned
liquidation of the province of Opole. 10 years later, the journalist Krzysztof Zyzik mentioned that “In 1998, the Opole citizens’ blood boiled when
the government of Electoral Action Solidarity attempted to eliminate the
province of Opole. In reaction against the perceived arrogance of those in
power tens of thousands of residents protested sharply, emphasising their
pride in being citizens of Opole.
This situation brought together conflicting political parties, local government activists from communitis and elsewhere, dozens of non-governmental organisations, the German minority, and the Church and all
of these worked hand in hand” (Zyzik 2012). This rapid mobilisation of
the inhabitants of the entire region and the threat of marginalisation led
to a clear and permanent constitution of the new identity of Opole. It can
be described as the capital of a specific region, distinct from the rest of
the country, the Opole Silesia region. It even seems reasonable to say that
the phenomenon called “inventing traditions” by the historian Eric Hobsbawm occurred. It is defined as “the process of formalisation and ritualisation, determined by reference to the past – even if only in the form of
repetition. [...] That also occurs more frequently where old traditions and
their institutional carriers are no longer flexible enough or are eliminated
in some other way, that is, in short, anywhere where a rapid development
on the demand side or the supply side is noticeable” (Hobsbawm 2008:
12–13). All of these criteria are met in connection with the events of the
second half of the 1990s.
So the question is: how can the contemporary identity of Opole be defined? Above all – and this is reflected in the areas of the polis and meta-
polis – the city is the administrative capital and the centre of socio-economic development in the Opole Silesia region. Both of these areas should
also include the fact that Opole is a thriving academic centre. In addition
to public universities such as the University of Opole, Opole University
of Technology, and the State Medical Higher Vocational School, private
institutions of higher education also operate in the city, which resulted
directly in the popularisation of higher education among the citizens of
Opole. Certainly, for the whole region of Opole, the city is also a regional
centre for trade and services. A very important feature is the fact that in
Opole there are the headquarters of institutions responsible for the maintenance and development of German identity among the inhabitants of
Opole Silesia. It is worth mentioning here the Socio-Cultural Association
of Germans in Opole Silesia and the House of Polish-German Cooperation, which have branches in Opole. A Consulate of the Federal Republic
of Germany is also located in the city.
An important aspect connecting the two spheres of the polis and metapolis is the development of the Opole Special Economic Zone on the
outskirts of the city. This is an area where investors put their money, helping to create new workplaces and gaining tax credits at the same time.
A characteristic feature of the Opole economic zone is that the investors
are mainly companies with western share capital. A large number of manufacturing facilities have been created there, including ones in the automotive industry (Lodziński 2013a).
In the area of the polis the Opole of today is made up of several different zones with different dominant functions. The oldest part of the city
is Śródmieście (city centre). This is where the main facilities – administrative, cultural, and scientific – are located. It is also a service centre. The
place of recreation and relaxation for the citizens of Opole is Bolko Island,
which is a park complex. The north-eastern residential area, along with
the housing estates of Chabry and Armii Krajowej and the Zaodrze residential area, which is dominated by blocks of flats and hypermarkets, are
different in their characteristics. The districts of Szczepanowice, Wójtowa
Wieś Bierkowice, New Wieś Królewska, Groszowice, and Półwieś, where
single-family houses, often of the nature of farms, are dominant, are similar
in their nature. There are also agricultural areas where trade and services
are of marginal importance. In these areas the rustic past is particularly
56
clearly visible. Gosławice and Kolonia Gosławicka, however, have an eclectic
character. In this district, which does not have clear boundaries, there are
both multi-family buildings and single-family houses. It is also a place
where many services, as well as manufacturing facilities, are located. Opole also has its industrial zones. These include the Zakrzów district, which
accounts for the cement plant and adjacent excavations and the district
of Metalchem – areas that are closed as a result of the bankruptcy of the
“Metalchem” plant. The northern area of the city is only in the course of
evolving into a place of increased economic activity. Currently, there are
mainly megastores and petrol stations situated there (Opole 2009: 16).
As regards only the field of the metapolis, one can assume that Opole
is a city inhabited by happy people. It is not just because, as claimed by
Plutarch in the first century AD, “The first condition of happiness is to be
born in a famous city.” This conclusion may be based on the results of a
study commissioned by the Ministry of Regional Development. According
to them, the local Human Development Index for Opole reflects a standard
of living higher than that achieved, for example, in Wrocław and Katowice
(Lodziński 2013b: 1). Despite this, the city and the entire region of Opole
Silesia face some serious difficulties of a demographic nature. In the long
term, as a result of low fertility the city is threatened with depopulation.
The solution to stop the process is plans to set up a Special Demographic
Zone in the province of Opole. An active family policy will be conducted
within its framework, as well as a policy of encouraging migration into
the region, including Opole.
Currently, Opole is a city where in the street one can meet people speaking Polish, German, or Silesian dialect. This fact, as well as the numerous
monuments that bring to mind the history of the city, entitle Opole to be
described as a multicultural centre, with many types of identity, and open
to all sorts of scientific and cultural innovations.
A serious challenge to the multi-coloured identity of Opole in the coming years is the need to maintain it in society and preserve it as it stands.
This theme also brings great risks, which may be the blurring of identity,
as a result of the proximity of other larger cities which are the capitals of
regions. As regards that issue, an interesting direction of action has been
proposed by the sociologist Kazimierz Szczygielski. He points out that
Opole, which has hitherto remained as if hermetically sealed within its
borders, should be more open to the neighbouring localities, and thus
become a centre of a larger structure, which can be an agglomeration of
the province of Opole (Szczygielski 2012).
We conclude that for all the years of the communist regime – despite
the city’s development in the area of the polis – as regards the identity of
Opole, there is a huge emptiness in terms of worldview, and a mishmash
of incoherent evaluations, slogans, and taglines totally inappropriate to
the structure of Opole. All this has led to semantic hype associated with
the category of the identity of Opole. Only the process of democratisation in Poland has enabled open discussion to take place and there have
been many opportunities to correct a lot of the notions promoted by the
communist authorities. This allows us to look freely at the past and start
looking for answers to the question about the way in which it has affected
the contemporary situation.
58
5 PATTERNS OF POLITICAL COMPETITION IN
SELECTED CITIES OF OPOLE REGION
Bożena Wroniszewska
The restitution of local government in 1990 was based on the experience
of self-government in interwar Poland and local government in Western
Europe. They provided a source of inspiration and examples for the development of the concept of Polish local government (Rajca 2006: 11–12).
The centralised political system that existed in Poland before 1990, which
deprived people of initiative and a sense of responsibility, created, inter
alia, the conditions for the articulation of different types of claims, brought
about the depoliticisation of society, and resulted in a decrease in interest
in public affairs. This resulted in social atomisation and uniformity (Jałowiecki 1989: 98–102). At present, a modern democracy and decentralisation, supported by the participation of citizens in local government, are
bringing many tangible and measurable benefits. These include political
competition, an integral part of local government, considered as a process
in which political parties interact with each other in order to maintain or
gain power (Antoszewski 2004: 15–23).
The changes of urban politics in selected Silesian cities since the transition to democracy and reflexion on specific local political trends are the
key points of the following chapter, which may provide a basis for more
detailed analysis throughout the Opole Voivodeship. The selection of the
test subject and time frame in question are caused mainly by the lack of
similar studies and publications for the region. Therefore, the analysis deals with such phenomena as the patterns of political competition and the
results of each local election.
The territorial scope of this study covers five municipalities: Opole,
Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Głuchołazy, Głogówek, and Nysa – areas known as a
crescent of poverty in the Opole region. In this chapter, an exceptional role
was played by the local government elections in the years 2002–2010, as
5 Patterns of political competition in selected cities of Opole region
59
setting the time frame which allowed interesting research material to be
extracted. As a result of changes introduced in the political system in 2002
related to the selection of the executive body, accompanied by the split of
the Polish party system, the local elections in 2006 were held in entirely
different political conditions.
Political competition in selected cities in the Opole
region
The units analysed here are mostly mixed urban-rural communes. The
exceptions are the city of Opole, which is a city with district status, and
Kędzierzyn-Koźle, as an urban commune. The city of Opole is the largest
of them all with regard to the size of the population. The data in Table 6
shows the number of eligible voters in selected cities.
Table 6. Population and number of electoral circuits and electoral districts
in selected cities (2002–2010)
The number of voters
The number of
district electoral
divisions
2002
2002
2006
2010
2002
2006
2010
City
2006
2010
The number of
constituencies
Opole
98,838 98,733 97,355
–
–
72
5
5
5
Kędzierzyn-Koźle
52,403 52,347 51,698
–
–
35
4
4
4
Głuchołazy
20,880 20,960 21,099
–
–
25
3
3
3
Głogówek
11,502 11,306 11,306
–
–
16
12
11
11
Nysa
48,214 48,788 48,583
–
–
34
4
4
4
Source: Author’s own elaboration based on data provided by the National Electoral
Commission, www.pkw.gov.pl.
In 2010, in the communes which are the subjects of this research, there
was a total number of 182 electoral circuits (see Table 6). The largest numbers of district electoral divisions were in Opole and Kędzierzyn-Koźle, and
among the mixed urban-rural communes in Nysa (34 circuits).
60
The electoral districts of the entities under analysis were established on
the basis of the resolutions of municipal councils, which set their boundaries and the number of councillors elected in each district. The resolutions adopted in 2002 reduced the number of councillors; for example, in
Opole it decreased from 45 to 25 members, in Kędzierzyn-Koźle from 36
to 23 councillors, and in Głogówek from 21 to 15; in Nysa in the term of
office from 1990–1994 there were 32 councillors, between 1994 and 1998
the number increased to 36, and currently there are 23 councillors. As a
result, since 2002, in comparison to the election in 1998, the number of
councillors elected has decreased by 63. Because of the above-mentioned
amendment, the municipal councils of big cities, e.g. Opole, have lost the
largest numbers of councillors. The number of constituencies varied significantly in terms of the number of elected councillors (see Table 6). The
smallest numbers of districts were created in the following communes:
Głochołazy (three electoral districts) and Nysa (four electoral districts). A
larger number of districts was established in Głogówek (in 2002 the figure
was 12, between 2006 and 2010 it was 11). As many as 134 political groupings participated in the distribution of seats in the selected communes
in 2002–2010 (see Table 7).
Table 7. The number of local groupings and political parties in the cities of
Opole Voivodeship (2002–2010)
Local groupings
Political parties
Commune
2002
2006
2010
2002
2006
2010
Opole
7
5
3
3
5
5
Kędzierzyn-Koźle
6
6
6
3
4
4
Głuchołazy
4
2
2
3
5
4
Głogówek
7
5
9
2
3
1
Nysa
5
5
6
5
5
4
The dominance of political parties over the local independent groups
was reported in Głochołazy in 2006–2010 and in the city of Opole.
The electoral committees of political parties (or their coalitions) won
64 seats in Opole in 2002–2010. Among the party’s electoral committees
61
success was achieved by the Civic Platform (36 seats) and the Democratic
Left Alliance (18 seats). Ten electoral committees participated in the electoral rivalry in the city in 2002. The main political force of local government
in the city of Opole was the Civic Platform, which had as many as 11 of the
25 councillors. In addition, Ryszard Zembaczyński, the first president of the
region to be elected by direct election, came from the Civic Platform (at
that time he was associated with the Electoral Committee (EC) for Ryszard
Zembaczyński). In the election of 2010 he participated as a member of the
Civic Platform. The Committee of the Democratic Left Alliance (with nine
electoral seats was also involved in the division of seats, as were the Electoral Committee (EC) of the Association for the Families of the Catholic
Diocese of Opole (three electoral mandates) and the Electoral Committee
of the Socio-Cultural Association of Germans in Opole Silesia (one mandate). This is illustrated in the table below.
Table 8. Candidates in Opole local elections (2002–2010)
Candidates
Year
2002
2006
Elected
2010
2002
2006
2010
the Election Committee (EC)
EC Democratic Left Alliance
49
50
49
4
9
5
EC Polish People‘s Party
22
20
32
–
–
–
Civic Platform
49
50
50
13
1
12
Law and Justice
33
–
50
5
-
5
Socio-Cultural Association of Germans in
Opole Silesia
–
31
31
–
1
–
EC of Voters (ECV ) The Independent
47
–
25
–
–
–
EC “Together for Opole”
–
–
48
–
–
3
ECV The Movement of Voters for Janusz
Korwin-Mikke
–
–
6
–
–
–
ECV For Dariusz Smagała 2006
49
–
–
3
–
–
Electoral Committee of the Association
for the Families of the Catholic Diocese
of Opole
–
40
–
–
3
–
62
In the elections of 2006, the Law and Justice Party won as many as five
seats. For the Civic Platform, which received 13 seats, the election also
proved to be effective and successful, because deriving from this political
party President Ryszard Zembaczyński won the election in the first round.
Such a situation was repeated in the subsequent election. The Civic Platform received 12 seats, the Democratic Left Alliance five seats, the Law and
Justice Party 5 seats, and the Electoral Committee “Together for Opole”
three seats (see Table 3).
Differences can be found in the rural-urban communes. A characteristic
feature of the local government elections analysed here was a low percentage of party committees in communes, compared with the city of Opole.
For example, in the years 2002–2010, in Głogówek, the seats were divided between 21 groups and six political parties. Besides political parties
such as the Electoral Committee of the Coalition of the Democratic Left
Alliance and the Union of Labour, the Election Committee of the Polish
People’s Party, the Electoral Committee of the Coalition for the Democratic Left Alliance + The Social Democracy of Poland + The Democratic
Party + Union of Labour Left and Democrats, success was achieved by
the Law and Justice Party, which in 2006 gained two seats in the council.
It is worth noting that residents who had previously supported the Independent Self-governing Trade Union “Solidarity” (NSZZ “Solidarność”)
focused mainly on local initiatives. Moreover, in rural-urban communes,
a number of groups representing local agricultural communities participated in the electoral contest. In these elections, in Głogówek, local groups
received 36 seats in the municipal council, of which the German minority
won 22. A similar situation occurred in the mayoral election, in which the
German minority was victorious in 1990–2006.
Currently (2006–2014), the above-mentioned position of Mayor is held
by Andrzej Kałamarz, representing the Electoral Committee of Voters –
The Municipal Forum. In all other localities the difference between the
number of local groups and political parties was rather small (from 8:12
in Głochołazy to 16:14 in Nysa). Political rivalry was of particular note in
2002. Nine electoral committees participated in the elections: the Coalition
of the Democratic Left Alliance and the Union of Labour (EC), the Polish
People’s Party (EC), “Self-governance” (ECV), the Municipal Association
of People’s Sports Teams in Głogówek (ECV), “Only Together” (ECV), the
63
“Society of Głogówek” (EC), the German Minority (EC), “Together for the
Głogówek Commune” (ECV), and “Our City” (ECV), and furthermore,
four candidates participated in the mayoral election. Among the electoral
committees, there were only two electoral committees of political parties
(the Electoral Committee of the Coalition of the Democratic Left Alliance and the Union of Labour and the Electoral Committee of the Polish
People`s Party).
Another particular nature of the elections in Głogówek is the coherence
in the results of the elections to the council and for the mayor. The German Minority won eight seats and its candidate for mayor – Jan Mencler
– won the election for the position.
Political power in the council of Głogówek in 2006 was divided between
the following electoral committees: The Law and Justice Party (EC), The
Social Democracy of Poland + Democratic Left Alliance + The Democratic Party + Union of Labour Left and Democrats (Electoral Committee of
the Coalition), “Local Government Forum of the Prudnik District” (ECV),
“Self-Government” (ECV), German Minority (EC), “My Głogówek” (ECV),
“Local Government of the Opole Region” (ECV) and the Self-Defence of
the Republic of Poland (EC). In the council four councillors’ clubs were
formed: the Law and Justice Electoral Committee (two seats), “Municipal
Forum Plus” (two seats), German Minority Electoral Committee (seven
seats), and Electoral Committee of Voters “Self-Governance” (four seats).
Five candidates participated in the mayoral election, of whom the winner
was Andrzej Kałamarz, representing the Local Government Forum of the
Prudnik District Electoral Committee.
In 2010, the electoral rivalry involved ten electoral committees and five
candidates for the position of mayor. Local groups, including the German
Minority, which gained seven seats, definitely won the elections to the
City Council. Two Electoral Committees of Voters, “Tradition and Development” and “Self-Governance,” each have two seats on the Council.
The Electoral Committee of Municipal Forum Plus gained three seats, the
Electoral Committee of Voters “Centre” only one. The mayoral election was
again won by Andrzej Kałamarz, representing the Electoral Committee of
Voters “Municipal Forum Plus,” who beat four other candidates. The data
concerning the candidates for councillors and those elected in Głogówek
in 2002–2010 is presented in Table 9.
64
Table 9. Candidates and elected councillors in Głogówek local elections
(2002–2010)
Candidates
Year
2006
2002
Elected
2010
2006
2002
2010
Electoral Committee (EC)
Electoral Committee
Law and Justice
14
–
11
2
–
–
Self-Government Forum Plus
14
–
11
2
–
3
Electoral Committee of Voters
Tradition and Development
–
–
9
–
–
2
Electoral Committee
German Minority
11
10
12
7
8
7
Piast – The Land of Prudnik
–
–
11
–
–
–
Self-Governance
11
–
10
4
–
2
Centre
–
–
1
–
–
1
League of Friends of Winiary
–
–
1
–
–
–
With You and For You
–
–
1
–
–
–
Our City
–
1
1
–
1
–
Electoral Committee
The Economic Society of Głogówek
–
15
–
–
3
–
An interesting aspect of the electoral rivalry in Głogówek was the number of electoral lists registered in comparison with other municipalities. It
was due to the higher number of constituencies in the city (11) in comparison with four other cities (see Table 6).
65
Table 10. The number of registered committees and electoral lists in
selected municipalities (2002–2010)
Nuber of Electoral
Committees
Commune
Registered electoral lists
2002
2006
2010
2002
2006
2010
Opole
10
10
8
49
49
36
Kędzierzyn-Koźle
9
10
10
32
3
34
Głuchołazy
7
7
6
21
20
18
Głogówek
9
8
10
57
51
53
Nysa
10
10
10
34
38
30
The dominant groups on the local political scene in Głochołazy in
2002–2010 were political parties (12 parties, eight local groups). However,
in Nysa, the main groups are local groups (14 political parties, 16 local
groups). Similarly, in Kędzierzyn-Koźle 18 local groups and 11 political
parties marked their activity (see Table 10).
In 2002, the largest number of candidates for public office on electoral commissions was reported by the city of Opole – 376 for the position
of councillor and five for the President’s election, and Nysa, with 342 and
seven respectively. Comparable figures appeared in Kędzierzyn-Koźle and
Głochołazy (288:239). With regard to the candidates for mayor, the figures
were 8 in Kędzierzyn-Koźle and four in Głuchołazy. The lowest number
of candidates was reported by the Głogówek commune – 67 and four for
the position of mayor.
The territorial division in 2006–2010 shows that the highest number
occurred in Opole in 2006 (383); four years later this had fallen to 291. In
the elections of 2010, the number of candidates increased in Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Głogówek, and Nysa. It can be said that over the years 2002–2010,
all the electoral committees in the five municipalities being analysed reported a total of 3,878 candidates.
The fiercest political competition in 2010 took place in Nysa, where there were 361 candidates for the council and 10 candidates for mayor. At the
time of the election Nysa had 58,678 inhabitants. A similar phenomenon
66
occurred in Kędzierzyn-Koźle, where, in the commune with 62,775 residents, candidatures for the council were reported by 321 residents, with 8
for mayor. In 2006 in Opole there were more than 15 candidates for one
mandate, likewise in Nysa, then in Głuchołazy 11, in Kędzierzyn-Koźle 12,
and Głogówek four.
Electoral competition varied, depending on the administrative unit, because of the activity of central party’s structures to their local structures,
as well as the number of entities involved in each election, were uneven.
By analysing only the names of the electoral committees, it can be
concluded that if all the elections in the communes are compared, in Opole,
one can only speak of the increasing dominance of political parties over
local groups in 2010. A similar situation existed in Głochołazy in 2006 and
2010. A characteristic feature of the communes, however, turns out to be
the “German Minority” Electoral Committee. This Committee is a grouping whose provenance is clearly of a minority, bringing together those
who offer political backing to the mayors in Głogówek and Kędzierzyn-Koźle. The Committee also issued its electoral lists in Opole, receiving one
mandate in 2002. The names of the electoral committees in the different
municipalities in the period 2002–2010 are presented in the table below.
67
Commune
Table 11. The names of the electoral committees in the selected
municipalities (2002–2010)
Year
2002
2010
Coalition Democratic Left
Alliance – Union of Labour
EC;
Polish People‘s Party EC;
Polish People‘s Party EC,
Law and Justice EC;
Civic Platform EC;
German Minority EC;
Civic Platform EC;
Law and Justice EC;
Fair City Community ECV;
Alliance + Social Democracy of Poland + The Democratic Party + Labour Union
Left and Democrats EC;
Socio-Cultural Association
of Germans in Opole
Silesia EC;
Ryszard Zembaczyński ECV;
Civic Committee of the
Opole Region ECV;
Opole
2006
Association for the Families
of the Catholic Diocese of
Opole EC;
League of Polish Families
EC;
Housing Association “The
Future” in Opole ECV
Self-Defence of the
Republic of Poland EC;
Christian Self-governing
Bloc ECV;
Association for the Protection of the
Dariusza Smagała’sVoters
ECV;
Unemployed EC;
The Independent ECV;
Society of Friends of
Opole EC
The Association of Catholic
Families EC
Democratic Left Alliance
EC;
The Independent ECV;
Together for Opole EC
Janusz Korwin-Mikke’s
Voters Movement ECV
Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Commune
68
Year
2002
2010
Law and Justice EC;
Alliance – Labour Union EC; Civic Platform EC;
Development and
Independence ECV;
Alliance + Social Democra-
EC;
EC;
Law and Justice EC;
Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland EC;
“The United” ECV;
cy of Poland + Democratic
Party + Labour Union Left
and Democrats EC;
Civic Platform EC;
Socio-Cultural Association of Germans in Opole
Silesia EC;
“Voters Together for the
City” ECV;
“Goodness, Peace and
Labour” ECV;
German Minority EC;
The Centre-Right ECV;
“The Right Choice” ECV;
The Centre-Right ECV;
“An Agreement” Kędzierzyn-Koźle ECV;
Cooperation Initiative,
Reasonableness ECV;
Thriftiness and Labour ECV;
Tomasz Wantuła ECV;
Kłodnica 2006 ECV
Citizens‘ Initiative Group
‘The Flood’ 2010 ECV
German Minority EC;
Wiesława Sietczyńska –
Thriftiness and Labour ECV
Głuchołazy
2006
Alliance – Labour Union EC; Law and Justice EC;
Municipal Electoral Bloc
Civic Platform EC;
ECV;
Alliance + Social DemocraEC;
cy of Poland + Democratic
Forum Samorządowe 2002 Party + Labour Union Left
ECV;
and Democrats EC;
Self-Defence of the
Our Commune Głuchołazy
ECV;
Municipal Forum Association 2002 in Nysa EC;
Głuchołazy League ECV
Independent Election
Agreement ECV
EC;
Civic Platform EC;
Law and Justice EC;
Municipal Forum 2002
Association EC;
Kamil Bortniczuk –
Głuchołazy 2010 ECV
Głogówek
Commune
Year
2002
2006
Law and Justice EC;
Alliance – Labour Union EC; Coalition Democratic Left
Alliance + Social Democracy of Poland + Democratic
Electoral Committee SelfParty + Labour Union Left
-Governance ECV;
and Democrats EC;
Municipal Association of
Sports Teams in Głogówek Municipal Forum of
Prudnik District ECV;
ECV;
Self-governance ECV EC;
Electoral Committee of
Voters Only Together;
German Minority EC;
The Society in Głogówek
ECV;
My Głogówek ECV;
German Minority EC;
Together for Głogówek ECV;
Our City ECV
Self-governed Opole
Region ECV;
Self-Defence of the
2010
Law and Justice EC;
Municipal Forum Plus;
Tradition and Development
ECV;
German Minority EC;
Piast – The Land of Prudnik
ECV;
Self-governance ECV;
The Centre ECV;
League of Friends of
Winiary ECV
With You and For You ECV;
Our City ECV
Alliance – Labour Union EC; Law and Justice EC;
Civic Platform EC;
EC;
Municipal Electoral Bloc
ECV;
Alliance + Social Democracy of Poland + Democratic
Party + Labour Union Left
and Democrats EC;
Civic Platform EC;
Self-Defence of the
Economic Initiative in Nysa
ECV;
Nysa
69
The National Party of
Pensioners EC;
Polish People’s Party EC;
Law and Justice EC;
Electoral Committee of
Municipal Forum 2002
Association EC;
Nysa Alliance EC;
Strong Nysa Association
of Residents of the Nysa
Region EC;
Committee of Citizens of
the Nysa Region ECV;
Civic Committee of the
Nysa Region EC;
Municipal and Economic
Forum EC;
Nysa Alliance EC;
Municipal Forum 2002 in
Nysa Association EC;
Piotr Linierski ECV;
Nysa Agreement EC;
Jolanta Barska ECV
EC;
Municipal Forum 2002 ECV;
Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland EC
Nysa Alliance ECV;
The Movement for Regional Development EC
70
Another important platform for competitive election was the election of
the executive body in the commune. Till the end of 1990s it was collective municipal board. Since 2001 the executive representative of the urban-rural or urban communes is the mayor, whereas in cities of over 100,000
inhabitants the president of the city.
The changes introduced in 2002 greatly reinforced the position of the
executive body, thus introducing a limitation on the competence of the
Board relating to the selection and dismissal of the executive body. The
collective board was replaced by equal, universal, and direct elections of
the (rural) commune head, mayor, and the president of the City.
On the basis of the pooled analysis, it can be concluded that in Poland, in
communes of over 20,000 inhabitants, including cities with district status,
local groups reported the largest number of candidates. This phenomenon
also occurred in the five municipalities studied here.
In only a few cases in 1990–2010 were political parties more active. This
took place in Opole, Kedzierzyn-Koźle, and Nysa. In this regard, it is worth
emphasising the activities of the local structures of the German Minority
in Głogówek, as well as the Left in Kędzierzyn-Koźle.
In the very first direct elections of the mayor (president of the city),
the largest number of candidates was reported in Kędzierzyn-Koźle (eight
candidates), followed by Nysa and Opole. In the other municipalities, Głuchołazy and Głogówek, four candidates participated in the electoral contest
in each. After the first term of office, the number of candidates increased
quite significantly. This phenomenon occurred in all the municipalities
except Kędzierzyn-Koźle. The results of the elections for the head of the
rural commune, the mayor, and the president of the city in 1990–2010 are
shown in Table 12.
71
Year
1990
Jacek
Kucharzewski
1994
Leszek
Pogan
1998
Leszek
Pogan
2002
ECV for Ryszard
Zembaczyński
ECV for Ryszard
Zembaczyński
2010
Ryszard
Zembaczyński
EC Civic Platform
Wiesław
Fąfara
Głuchołazy
ECV Democratic Left
Tomasz
Alliance + Social
Wantuła
ECV Democratic Left Democracy of Poland
ECV for Tomasz
Alliance – Union of + The Democratic
Wantuła
Labour
Party + Union of
Labour Left and
Democrats
Mirosław
Borzyn
Stanisław
Tkacz
Jan
Szawdylas
Stanisław
Szul
Andrzej
Gierczycki
Jan
Borsutzki
Karol
Kopacz
Karol
Kopacz
Jan
Mencler
ECV German
Minority
ECV German
Minority
ECV German
Minority
ECV German
Minority
Jacek
Suski
Civic Committee
for the Nysa
Region
Mieczysław
Warzocha
Democratic Left
Alliance
Jerzy
Majchrzak
Wiesław
Fąfara
Mirosław
Borzyn
Nysa
2006
Ryszard
Ryszard
Zembaczyński Zembaczyński
Głogówek
Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Opole
City
Table 12. Results of the elections for the (rural) commune head, the mayor,
and the President of the City (1990–2010)
Zdzisław
Baran
Janusz
Sanoki
Edward
Szupryczyński
Edward
Edward
Szupryczyński Szupryczyński
ECV Self-Government
EC Civic Platform
Electoral Bloc
Marian
Smutkiewicz
ECV Economic
Initiative of Nysa
Andrzej
Kałamarz
EC Civic Platform
Andrzej
Kałamarz
ECV Self-Government
ECV Self-GovernForum for the
ment Forum Plus
District of Prudnik
Jolanta Barska
EC of Association
for Self-Government Forum 2002
Jolanta
Barska
ECV for Jolanta
Barska
As far as the electoral turnout in the selected cities is concerned, in the
2002 election the highest turnout was recorded in Głochołazy (44%), followed by Nysa (42.37%), Głogówek (37.84%), Kędzierzyn-Koźle (36.89%),
and Opole (35.73%). In 2006, the registered turnout in all municipalities
decreased. This fact could be associated with the change to the electoral
72
law by which the electoral system became presumably more complicated
for the voters and which thus led to the cancellation of many votes. On
contrary, the voter turnout in next elections increased in all five communes
– Opole (+1.71), Kędzierzyn-Koźle (+3.93), Głuchołazy (+1.99), Głogówek
(+10.66), and Nysa (+1.8).
6 The media image of selected cities in the Opole region 73
6 THE MEDIA IMAGE OF SELECTED CITIES IN
THE OPOLE REGION
Adam Drosik
The media image of cities reflects the way they are perceived by the media. This image is made up, on the one hand, of the public relations activities of the cities or, to be more specifically, of the municipal authorities,
and also of the personal experiences and observations of the journalists
on the other. It is a truism to say that the media image largely influences
the perception of particular cities by both their citizens and other people.
As was pointed out by M. McCombs, the media do not tell people what
to think but rather what to think about (McCombs 2013: 1). They indicate
the direction in which to look, whether at the side of the road with holes
or the new investment. A method of evaluating what the media show is
a secondary activity, because in order to be able to evaluate anything the
first need is to see it.
This chapter will present the perception of the following cities: Opole,
Nysa, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Głuchołazy, and Głogówek by the local, regional,
and national media. Furthermore, this analysis will be compared with the
results of the study “The transformation of cities: democratic governance
in the Olomouc Region and the Province of Opole.”
The research on cities’ image requires an analysis of them related to media reports. It is mainly about various types of media: local, regional and
national. Local media are represented by, inter alia, the following: “Gazeta
Wyborcza Opole” (although the title suggests that the newspaper is of a
regional nature, the information contained in it is mainly focused on the
city of Opole), the web portal “Opole24.pl” (Opole), “Nowa Gazeta Lokalna” (Kędzierzyn-Koźle), the web portal of “Radio Park” (Kędzierzyn-Koźle),
“Nowiny Nyskie” (Nysa, Głuchołazy), Regional TV Opolska (Nysa), the web
portal “Ilovenysa.pl” (Nysa), the web portal “GlucholazyOnline.com.pl”
74
(Głuchołazy), the web portal “prudnicka.pl” (Głuchołazy, Głogówek), and
“Tygodnik Prudnicki” (Głogówek).
Regional media, in turn, include, for example, “Nowa Trybuna Opolska”,
the Polish TV programme 3 Opole (TVP 3 Opole), and the web portal of
Radio Opole. As for the nationwide media, those in which the information
that appears concerns the cities being researched are analysed.
This analysis did not include media created by the municipal authorities,
such as the information portals of the individual cities, or those created by
city officials and de facto presenting items related to the city portals (e.g.
“Glogowek-online.pl”), or press titles such as “Życie Głogówka,” because
their contents are more promotional materials of the local authorities than
of the cities themselves, and at the same time present the point of view of
individuals invested with authority, who are sometimes distant from reality, and thus their scientific usefulness is small.
The selection of the cities examined introduces a degree of imbalance
of information about each of them, which is related to the amount of media operating in the city, but also results from the importance of the city
in the structure of the region. Opole, as the capital of the region, is the
most popular in the regional media, and in turn the other cities are rather
objects of the interest of the local media.
A very interesting phenomenon that occurs in connection with the analysis of the media image of the selected cities is local internet initiatives that
have the attributes of the creation of a cybernetic agora, which Lawrence
Grossman describes as an “electronic republic” and in which, in spite of
criticism, he sees the future of the information society (Grossman 1995).
This is particularly evident in Głuchołazy and Głogówek, thus in small
cities which are the seats of municipal authorities. For these cities, before
“the Internet era” (although it might sound pretentious), it was extremely
difficult to maintain local media because of the costs and limited ability to
raise funds (e.g. from advertisements). Building a website greatly reduced
the cost of creating a media platform and thus allowed the establishment
of local media, even in small cities such as Głuchołazy or Głogówek. At
the same time, it should be stressed that the efforts to develop local internet portals are bottom-up initiatives by their residents, who often have no
journalistic experience, and thus the content presented by them articulates
the observations and comments of at least part of the population.
A media map of the Opole region
If one wished to create a media map of the Opole region it would be composed of media on the regional and local levels. The classification into
one or the other category would be determined, on the one hand, by the
territorial coverage (the entire region, or just the commune or district),
and, on the other hand, by the subject matter and the scope of the content (for example, focusing on the whole region or on local issues only).
Moreover, this most natural classification requires a filter that concerns
only the electronic media, specifically speaking, the radio and television,
associated with the structure of their ownership (public and commercial
media). Starting from these assumptions, the regional media in the Opole
province include: “Nowa Trybuna Opolska” (the press), TVP Opole (the
regional branch of the public television service), Radio Opole (the regional
public radio station), and Radio Plus (a commercial radio station owned by
the Eurozet radio group). At the same time it should be noted that “Nowa
Trybuna Opolska” has local editorial branches in the district cities, which
focus on local issues and compete with local periodicals.
Considerations of local media should be preceded by an analysis of the
nature of the Opole branch of “Gazeta Wyborcza”. The classification of its
editorial board into one of the groups is even more difficult because “Gazeta
Wyborcza,” though it meets the criterion of being part of the regional media
in terms of its coverage, deals with purely local subject matter, specifically
dedicated to the city of Opole. Therefore, it should be treated as a local
medium associated with the regional capital in the following reflections.
The second category, which is much more numerous, is that of local
media. In these deliberations, I will focus only on the local media in the
cities being examined, but keep in mind that this is a much more numerous
group as it covers almost all the district cities of Opole Province. With this
in mind, it should be noted that the media market in Kędzierzyn-Koźle is
created by the newspapers: “Nowa Gazeta Lokalna” and “Tygodnik lokalny 7 dni” and Radio Park (although it should be noted that its broadcast
coverage also reaches neighbouring districts). In turn, the coverage of
“Nowiny Nyskie,” a weekly published in Nysa, includes Głuchołazy, which
is located within the borders of the district of Nysa. Additionally, issues
concerning Głogówek, which is located in the district of Prudnik, are also
discussed in “Tygodnik Prudnicki,” published in Prudnik. It should be kept
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in mind that the problems of individual cities are also discussed in the local supplement to “Nowa Trybuna Opolska.” However, when it comes to
the affairs of the city of Opole – as the capital of the region, but also as a
place where the editorial boards of the regional media have their offices –
they occupy a prominent place in the issues that are discussed. The media
image of Opole is supported by a local supplement to “Gazeta Wyborcza.”
Finally, it is necessary to consider the most turbulently growing part
of the media market – online initiatives. The term “initiatives” is used intentionally. On the internet, the ability to create information and opinions
is, after all, endless. In other words, anyone can produce media content
at their own discretion, as even the technical limitations are no longer a
barrier. It is enough to look at the dynamics of YouTube, whose motto is
expressed in the slogan “Broadcast Yourself.”
The most valuable thing in the world of media is the recipient’s attention,
but how to fight for it in a space filled with many different types of content
is another matter. In addition, the recipient’s grace is uncertain; one can
say that it is extremely cruel. And therefore, talking about “web initiatives,” it should be noted that they can often assume a temporary character,
conditioned by the ability to orientate and focus the Internaut’s attention.
Of course, ‘local web space’ is a symbolic term. After all, the internet is
global. This also applies to the recipient, as well as the creator of the message. In the first case, no one is surprised that matters such those related
to Głogówek can be read by anyone who has access to the network and, of
course, can read, in this case, Polish. And it is not important whether the
recipient is present in Głogówek, the Prudnik District, or, let us say, South
Korea. But it should be noted that the author of the content, for example,
about Głogówek may be a person who is in the city, as well as from any
other place in the world. The location where media content is produced
is irrelevant in the network environment. But there is one catch. In a space where anybody can be a creator, and the amount of content generates
not only a noise, but real information chaos, the attention of the recipient,
which is the most precious thing in the world of the media, is of particular
importance. Thus, it becomes essential not only to create a media product,
but also to reach the recipient.
In the chaos on the Web, it is worth at least trying to make some arrangements to put in order the issues that are under consideration for the
purposes of this paper. It is known that in the local market anyone can be
a creator. However, analysing the available content, it is easy to see that
local initiatives are twofold. On the one hand, there are formal structures
that are components of traditional media editorial boards, or just online
newsrooms. On the other hand, there are bottom-up initiatives, in which
Dan Gillmor sees the future of citizen journalism (Gillmor 2006). Of course, the objects of interest are only those that managed to break through
and reach the recipient’s consciousness. Among the web-based initiatives
dealing with regional topics can be distinguished portals belonging to traditional media editorial boards: “www.nto.pl” (belonging to “Nowa Trybuna
Opolska”) and “www.radio.opole.pl” (belonging to Radio Opole). When it
comes to the local level, in Opole, one can point to the portals “www.opole.
gazeta.pl” (which is an online version of “Gazeta Wyborcza”) and “opole24.pl” (which is clearly tabloid) and in Kędzierzyn-Koźle the web space
is filled by the editorial offices of “Nowa Gazeta Lokalna” and Radio Park.
An interesting situation occurs in other cities, which appears to be associated with a reduced role for traditional media. Thus in Nysa, in addition
to the portal “Nowiny Nyskie”, urban topics are also raised by the portal
“www.ilovenysa.pl,” which has its origins in Regional Internet TV Opole
and is associated with the municipal authorities. Finally, in the affairs of
Głuchołazy, besides the portal “Nowin Nysa,” portals such as “www.GlucholazyOnline.com.pl” and “prudnicka.pl” are also involved. The latter is
also dedicated to Głogówek, as is the portal “Głogówek-online.pl,” which
is associated with the municipal authorities.
The image of cities that were surveyed in
the nationwide media
The cities of the Opole region are quite rare guests in the national media
and the subject matter and information that appears can be divided into
three categories. The first group concerns recurring events of high interest
from the point of view of the whole country. In this group of information, focused virtually exclusively on Opole, we are dealing with the Polish
Song Festival in Opole. Organised by public television, it has become a
yearly event and now preserves, strengthens, and maintains the image of
Opole as “the capital of Polish song.” Another point about Opole that is
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recognisable right across the country is the men’s volleyball team ZAKSA
Kędzierzyn-Koźle. Of course, information on the team from Kędzierzyn-Koźle is mainly interesting for fans of the sport, but it does not change
the fact that the image of the city of Kędzierzyn-Koźle is primarily shaped
by volleyball.
Other information involves incidental events, among which two dominant themes may be indicated. The first one can conventionally be called
“criminal” because it will consist of reports about incidents in which the
law has been broken. These will include traffic accidents, homicides and
murders, assaults, robberies, burglaries, thefts, and violations of the law by
local politicians, as the ‘City Hall Affair’ which generated so much noise
some years ago and which for several years has created a picture of Opole
as a city of official corruption (Zyzik 2007; Drosik 2007). The second group
consists of the events that can be described as “unconventional”, which can
catch the attention of the media because of their non-standard nature. In
general, the nature of the information is light, almost ironic, and usually
it is complementary to national news. This group is extremely broad, as
it will include information on growing a huge pumpkin, innovative ways
of promoting the circle of local farmers’ wives, and the bizarre ideas of
politicians. One of them was the idea of drivers of public transport buses
counting the number of passengers getting on and off in Kędzierzyn-Koźle.
Most of the national media reported on this initiative, which, according
to the authors, was to be a response to the requirements of the European
Union (Żybul 2011; Kapica 2011). It also includes the statements or actions of politicians coming from the region, such as the words of a former
Member of Parliament, Robert Węgrzyn, on homosexuals, for which he
was expelled from the Civic Platform. It is understood that the “affair of
MP Węgrzyn” was one of the main topics of the local media (Dźwilewski
2011a; Dźwilewski 2011b).
It should be added here that the information from the cities being studied is usually presented on public television, which is associated with
the way information is produced on TV. The content of the news presented on the two main general public TV channels consists in large part
of local information purchased from the regional branches of Polish TV.
Additionally, the news on the public television news channel TVP Info is
made up, to a substantial extent, of news provided by TV branches. As a
result, city Opole and the cities such as Nysa, Kędzierzyn-Koźle and, to a
lesser extent, Głuchołazy or Głogówek have a chance to present themselves throughout the country.
The image of the cities under analysis in the local media
The national media only shape the image of small and medium-sized cities
to a small extent. The minimal amount of information that concerns, for
example, Nysa, means that for an average Polish citizen Nysa is the same
as dozens of other similar locations. And for the people of the region, and
especially local communities, the information presented in the national media is no more than an interesting (both positive and negative) addition to
the image which is shaped by the regional and local media. The information and comments presented by them have the greatest influence on the
opinions of residents and on the creation of the media image of the cities.
Each of the cities analysed here is unique, and this also applies to the
media market. Opole, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, and Nysa have their own local
media, which focus on the problems of these areas. The information about
Głuchołazy and Głogówek is a supplement to the local newspapers “Nowiny
Nyskie” (Głuchołazy) and “Tygodnik Prudnicki” (Głogówek). Moreover,
it is worth remembering that in all of these cities there are internet initiatives that are developed to a greater or lesser extent and supplement the
media structure of the locality.
The way in which the city is presented depends largely on the attitude
of individual offices to the authorities of the city. In the cities studied here
quite radically different approaches can be observed, from very positive
(“Gazeta Wyborcza Opole”) to extremely negative (“Nowiny Nyskie”).
The city of Opole owes the image that is created by the media mainly
to the regional media (“Nowa Trybuna Opolska”, Radio Opole, and TVP
Opole) and “Gazeta Wyborcza.” Of these the medium that is most favourably disposed towards the local authorities is “Gazeta Wyborcza.” The
image of the President, the governing coalition on the city council, and
their proposals concerning the issues of the city meet with a favourable
attitude on the part of the editors of this newspaper on the great majority
of occasions. In addition, Opole is also presented as a vibrant city filled
with culture and all sorts of other attractions. Often, only the titles of ar-
80
ticles are of a highly evaluative nature: “The abundance of events on Friday in Opole. Boredom is out of the question” (Gazeta Wyborcza 2013a),
or “Great events today in Opole” (Gazeta Wyborcza 2013b). And these are
just a couple of examples of publications appearing one particular weekend.
Much less enthusiastic information about Opole is provided by other
media. However, it is difficult to say that the image of Opole created on
the basis of this information is negative. One can even put forward a thesis
that it is closer to the truth than the image created by “Gazeta Wyborcza
Opole,” but of course this is a subjective assessment. It is also important
that each of these media offers the opportunity to comment to all political
opinions, allowing them to present their ideas for Opole (although sometimes these are quite controversial, such as the recent proposal by a Councillor from the Democratic Left Alliance to eliminate the city guard (Wrona
2013; Janowski 2013) or the liquidation of councillors’ clubs declared by the
President of the Club of Councillors “Together for Opole” (Pszon 2009).
The media image of Kędzierzyn-Koźle, in turn, has been dominated by
the political turmoil accompanying President Tomasz Wantuła, who was
elected in 2010, practically since the beginning of his term of office. Of
course, it should be noted that Kędzierzyn-Koźle is perceived by sports fans
as first and foremost a visiting card of the Opole region, mainly because
of the ZAKSA volleyball club. Interestingly, after the election, the attitude of the media towards the new president was more than positive. In an
article entitled “A good introduction to a good times?,” Grzegorz Stępień,
a journalist writing for “Nowa Gazeta Lokalna”, describes the new president as a person providing a breath of fresh air and introducing a new and
better order in the city, which is reflected in his success during the City
Council session (Stępień 2010). However, in a short time President Tomasz
Wantuła has wasted this specific capital through his incompetent political
acts, which resulted in constant political confrontations in the city council. A good example was the struggle for the position of Chairman of the
City Council, to which three incumbents were appointed in the first three
months of the new council (Dźwilewski 2011c).
For almost the whole of 2011 there was a discussion related to a reshuffle in the City Hall in Kędzierzyn-Koźle. In particular, this concerned the
position of the Vice-President, which stirred a lot of emotions. The Civic
Platform, forming a coalition with the club of councillors supporting the
president of Kędzierzyn-Koźle, had a problem with the designation of a
candidate to the position for several months. The candidates resigned from
their position in favour of working at the District Office (Arthur Widłak)
or did not accept the nomination (Grzegorz Chodomięt). The first full year
of the new president’s term of office was summed up in “Nowa Gazeta
Lokalna” by Jakub Dźwilewski in an article with the appropriate headline
“The difficult year of Tomasz Wantuła” (Dźwilewski 2011d). The year 2012
brought a degree of stabilisation in staff issues, but did not calm down
moods, which has the greatest impact on the media image of Kędzierzyn-Koźle. The result of all the political turbulence has been the successful
collection of enough signatures for a referendum to dismiss the President,
scheduled for mid-November 2013.
It is worth noting the neutral position of the media in Kędzierzyn-Koźle in relation to all the political forces in the city; the same cannot be
said when analysing the media image of Nysa, which is mostly created by
“Nowiny Nyskie.” Nysa is a special case among the cities analysed here,
because one of the most important, if not the most important local medium is directly involved in the political struggle. The publisher of “Nowiny Nyskie” is the former mayor of Nysa, Janusz Sanocki, now a district
councillor, while in turn, its editor-in-chief is Danuta Wąsowicz-Hołota, a
city councillor. The political involvement of editorial office managers, and
also the most important journalists, has an impact on the creation of the
image of Nysa, which is governed by Jolanta Barska. Extremely aggressive
articles which deprive the other parties of an opportunity to make a comment result in frequently generated demands for rectification. The image
of Nysa which appears in the publication “Nowiny Nyskie” is of a city on
the brink of collapse, governed by a “greedy for trinkets” mayor, and any
project, even if successfully completed (the renovation of Nysa’s fortifications and the Water Tower), should be considered “useless” (Sanocki 2013).
To a lesser extent, the media image of Nysa is created by Opole Regional
Television and the portal “ilovenysa.pl.” What is particularly interesting is
the case of television, because it may become a viable alternative to “Nowiny Nyskie” in the future. Today, television is available on the Internet and
two cable networks in Nysa (also available in Paczków, Otmuchowo, and
Niemodlin). “Nowiny Nyskie” is regarded as “regional,” but with strictly
local programmes, focusing on Nysa. In the materials that are presented,
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the principle of journalistic reliability is respected and, what is important,
some issues that are inconvenient for “Nowiny Nyskie” are also discussed,
and the opportunity to present their views is open to all the political forces in the city. There is less chance for the portal “ilovenysa.pl,” which in
fact is a chronicle of urban investments written by the Spokesman of the
Nysa City Hall, and a chronicle of crimes based on the notes of the police,
to influence the media image of Nysa.
In the other two cities analysed here there are no local media. The exceptions are online initiatives. The media image of both Głuchołazy and
Głogówek is mostly created by the editorial staff, which in turn focuses
primarily on matters relating to the district capitals, thus Nysa and Prudnik. This is particularly evident in the case of Głuchołazy and “Nowiny
Nyskie,” where reports from other cities in the district are pushed aside
by the current political struggle between the newspaper and the mayor of
Nysa. Information on Głogówek published in “Tygodnik Prudnicki” usually deals with specific problems (the municipality’s struggle to recover the
castle in Głogówek, the absence of a resolution of the municipal council
on the mayor’s salary, etc.), or with the traditional local issues related to
renovation of the roads and sessions of the municipal council. It is worth
noting that in the paper all the local political forces have a chance to express their views; this also applies to those who actively participated in the
discussion about the city and the community, and who are not necessarily
performing public functions, such as Piotr Bujak. As a result the image of
Głogówek that emerges from the publication “Tygodnik Prudnicki” includes a full range of views and opinions.
The attitude of the editorial office towards the authorities in Głogówek
can be characterised as critical, but not fault-finding. An example might be
the reaction of the newspaper to the appointment of the Social Committee
of Advisors to the Mayor of Głogówek, where it is indicated that it is a
purely political body whose goal may be to reduce the competence of the
Municipal Council, and its members are recruited almost exclusively from
the mayor’s political group – Self-government Forum Plus (Dereń 2011).
The media images of Głogówek and Głuchołazy are complemented
by a variety of internet initiatives. Especially noteworthy are two portals:
“Prudnicka.pl” and “Glucholazyonline.com.pl.” The first of these thematically covers both of the cities. The content presented is predominantly
reports on events, police records, and invitations to attend various events.
Much more interesting, however, is the portal “Glucholazyonline.com.pl,” in
which, besides reports and invitations, a separate department is dedicated
to local politics. In addition, the portal offers a forum that gives everyone
the opportunity to comment.
The attitude of councillors towards the local media –
research report
The study conducted among the municipal councillors of Opole, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Nysa, Głuchołazy, and Głogówek contained two questions relating to the councillors’ attitudes to the local media. In the first question,
which related to the image of the city in the media, almost half of the respondents indicated that it is rather good, a quarter found it rather poor,
and almost 19 % considered it to be neutral. The city’s image in the media
received the highest rating from the councillors of Nysa and Głogówek.
Among the Opole councillors nearly as many neutral opinions as positive
ones were. The worst media images of any of the cities were assessed by
the councillors of Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Głuchołazy. In the case of Kędzierzyn-Koźle the impact on the councillors’ opinion probably depended,
on the one hand, on the political wrangling in the City Hall and in the
municipal council, and, on the other hand, on the negative media reports
about the former Member of Parliament Robert Węgrzyn. In the case of
Głuchołazy the negative perception of the image of the city is somewhat
surprising, given that there is a lack of both open war between councillors
and spectacular mishaps such as that of Robert Węgrzyn.
The second question was about “the opposition’s opportunity to express their views in a newspaper/urban newsletter.” This question generates
the problem of the interpretation by the respondents, i.e. whether it concerns a statement in the newspaper, or the website belonging to the city
hall, or simply the opportunity to present their views in the local media.
As mentioned earlier, virtually the only local weekly newspaper in Nysa
is extremely politicised, but part of the opposition, not only the municipal
authorities, also has an opportunity to present its views. Also in Opole, the
local supplement of “Gazeta Wyborcza,” although favourably disposed towards the President, provides an opportunity for the opposition to express
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their views. In the other cities studied here, the local media are trying to
keep an equal distance from all the political forces. However, among the
councillors who were surveyed, more than 60 % indicated that they have
sufficient opportunities to present their views, about 30 % felt these opportunities are small, and less than 10 % felt that there was no opportunity.
Looking at the distribution of responses in each city, it can be concluded
that only among councillors in Głogówek does the view that they have
little chance of expressing themselves prevail. In the other cities, more than
a half of the respondents indicated that they have sufficient opportunities
to present their views.
Conclusions
The media image of Opole, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Nysa, Głuchołazy, and Głogówek that emerges from the content presented by the regional and local
media is not fundamentally different from that of hundreds of other similar cities in Poland. Small and medium-sized cities live their own lives
and have their own problems, which are usually not of interest to anyone
but them. Hence the external image is mostly formed from national media
reports, and there must be something to distinguish a given city or region
that enables them to become a part of the public consciousness. The ideal
situation is when it is a positive association (e.g. the Polish Song Festival
in Opole or, the volleyball team from Kędzierzyn-Koźle), while it is worse when it is of a criminal nature (e.g. the “City Hall Affair” in Opole) or
mockery (e.g. the matter of counting passengers in buses in Kędzierzyn-Koźle). The regional and local media have a great influence on the creation
of the image of the city among its residents. It should, however, be noted
that in small communities, the creation of hyper-reality media is limited
because it is largely under constant review. This can be seen through the
example of Nysa, where the local weekly “Nowiny Nyskie,” which has
a strong position in the local media market, openly attacks the Mayor,
Jolanta Barska, however, without the desired result. Despite the attacks
from the newspaper, Jolanta Barska won the elections for the second time
in 2010. Therefore the phrase “whoever has the media also has the power”
does not always hold true.
What is interesting, as the studies show, is that the councillors assess
the media image of their own cities quite positively, although it should be
remembered that the number of positive responses is often similar to the
majority of the coalition in the councils. However, it should be noted that
the majority of councillors believe that they have not got sufficient opportunities to express their views, no matter whether they are in the coalition
or the opposition.
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7 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY
INSTITUTIONS IN SELECTED CITIES OF
THE OPOLE REGION
Ewa Ganowicz
It is not disputed that an important element of the concept of “good governance in the State” is the voice of its citizens. It is a fundamental principle
of any democratic state. This voice should be both heard and listened to.
This refers to a variety of mechanisms – formal and informal – that enable
people to express their preferences, opinions, and views. These mechanisms include, for example, a complaint, organised protest, lobbying, and
participation in decision making (e.g. by public consultation) and the implementation of public policies (such as the civic budget). In the last two
months the terms “citizen participation” and “social dialogue” have been
used in many different types of cases by most politicians, both from the
Right and the Left, and by so-called “scientific experts.”
An opportunity to renew the discourse on providing citizens with a
real impact on the decisions taken by the authorities at both central and
local levels has become a referendum on the dismissal of the Mayor of
Warsaw, Mrs. Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz. One of the main objections to
the way in which the office was managed during her term of office was
the lack of social dialogue. On the other hand, it should be pointed out
that the negotiations within the framework of the Tripartite Commission
were broken off only recently.
In recent years the relations between the public authorities, NGOs, and
citizens in Poland have experienced a noticeable and significant transformation. What is more, the process is still ongoing. On the one hand, it
can be observed that the authorities, both central and local, are taking extensive measures to modernise governance mechanisms towards a model
that can be described as more participatory. On the other hand, citizens
7 Local government and civil society institutions in selected sities of the Opole region
87
want to be able to exert more influence over the making of decisions by
the authorities democratically elected by them. Although it seems that we
are slowly moving away from the traditional – purely hierarchical – formula for governance, we continue to see troubling symptoms indicating
that traditional, or, one could say, “authoritarian” forms of governance are
doing quite well in Poland. One example would be the way decisions are
made in small urban-rural or rural communities, where most decisions are
actually taken by the Mayor or the administrator of the commune, who
possesses almost absolute power.
For several years the phenomenon of a continuing decrease in participation in elections and the erosion of trust in some public institutions
(political parties, parliament) has been visible. Therefore, the new challenge
for public administration is not only to mobilise citizens and the organisations created by them, or agreeing with them on the common objectives of
action, but above all to convince them that these measures are not merely
ad hoc and specific to a particular case, but that their purpose is to permanently change the relationship between government and the citizenry.
New trends in the management of public affairs (so-called civic administration), which have been noticeable for several years, give citizens and
their organisations more information and greater influence over government decisions that affect them. This allows them to act relatively early
to block any initiative or support it, change its shape, or build a coalition
in favour of its introduction (a good example is the recent initiative of
citizens to change the abortion laws). Local authorities also gain a better
understanding of the problems, needs, and preferences of society, as well
as something that seems to be very important in the current crisis of faith
in democracy, greater social acceptance of their plans. As a result, this may
even shape the participation of citizens in responsibility for the programmes and activities agreed with them.
The sources of a “participatory society” in Poland refer to the political
rights and freedoms guaranteed by the citizens of the country’s Constitution. Therefore they can be found in the following rights and freedoms. As
far as the rights are concerned, we could mention the right to participate
in public life, exemplified by the right to vote in elections and referenda,
the right to stand for election, the right to initiate legislation, the right of
access to public service (e.g. professional military service), the right to be
88
informed about the activities of public authorities and public office holders, and the right to petition and make requests and complaints, both
in the public interest and in their own interest or that of third persons.
Basic freedoms related to political participation are freedom of assembly,
including the freedom to organise and join organisations, and freedom of
association concerning the freedom of creating and participating in them
(Garlicki 2003).
The transformation of the idea of human rights and freedoms into law,
which can effectively be demanded from the State, depends on the existence of effective procedural mechanisms that allow citizens to assert their
implementation and that have to be provided to them. Bodies involved in
public administration can provide for the participation of citizens in the
processes of making laws and decisions, voluntarily or as part of an obligation imposed by law (omitting this step carries the threat of sanctions).
In Poland, this type of action arises from the provisions of the Constitution, laws, and legal acts of lower rank. In particular, a document adopted
by the government called “the principles of social dialogue” should also
be pointed out here.
It should be clear that the forms of civic (social) participation represent
one of the fundamental guarantees of the functioning of direct democracy,
understood as a way of exercising power which manifests itself as direct
participation in the public decision-making process. It seems that as a result
of the number of entities operating at the central level, the contemporary
version of direct democracy is possible only in small communities. This
paper is an attempt to answer the question whether in fact local government bodies use mechanisms of social dialogue in their decision making.
This article is the result of research carried out within a project whose
aim was to submit for analysis the development of democratic governance
in selected Polish and Czech cities. The study, based on selected municipalities in the Opole province, presents the forms of civic participation,
starting from elections, through public consultation, to the participation
of the so-called non-governmental sector in public life.
The first part of the article focuses primarily on presenting the theoretical framework, which discusses the concept of civic participation and
briefly presents the methods and tools used in participatory processes. On
the other hand, the second part focuses mainly on the practical use of two
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of them by local government: public consultation and cooperation between
local government and NGOs.
Public participation, in particular consultation, is not and should not
be reserved only for decisions made by the central government; local and
regional authorities may also carry out a public consultation on the basis
of the laws and resolutions of the council at the appropriate level. Therefore, the basis for the considerations set out in the article was the data
obtained from the five following municipalities: Opole, Kędzierzyn-Koźle,
Nysa, Głogówek, and Głuchołazy (basic data on these municipalities are
shown later in this article, in Table 8). For the purposes of the research,
on the basis of the Law on Access to Public Information (Article 2, Paragraph 1), an application was made to these municipalities2 with a request
for information in the areas related to civic participation.3
For further discussion it is important how the Poles themselves perceive their ability to influence public affairs. In a recent study, the Public
Opinion Research Centre (CBOS 2012a) analysed the extent of the sense
of power to influence public affairs, as well as opinions on the possibility
of shaping what is happening both nationally and in the respondents’ immediate neighbourhood – in their own city or commune. The study also
included the involvement of Poles in various forms of civic participation.
It turned out that nearly half of Poles (47%) believe that people like them
have no effect on what is happening either on a national scale or at the
local level. A quarter of the respondents (26%) expressed a sense of the
impact on both these issues of the whole country, as well as of cities and
communes, a marginally smaller group (23%) only on what is happening
2
No information has been obtained in relation to the municipality of Głuchołazy; all
the others made it available on the basis of their documentation.
3
The issues were: a) the number of non-governmental organisations operating in the
municipalities – this information was obtained only in relation to the City of Opole,
as the other municipalities do not collect such statistics; b) the number of inhabitants
among whom surveys have been conducted in the period 2000–2013; c) the methods
of work on the municipality’s development strategy as a document that should be
consulted with members of the local community; d) other programmes in preparation in the municipality and the methods accepted for performing public consultation
and their course; e) the extent and form of the municipality’s participation in public
consultation on governmental strategic and programming documents.
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in their locality, and very few (4%) only in relation to the situation in the
country (CBOS 2012a: 3). However, Polish citizens’ perceptions of their
influence on the affairs of their city/municipality evolve positively in time,
as shown in the table below.
Table 13. Poles’ perception of their influence on the affairs of their city/
municipality
Year
1992
1997
1999
2004
2007
2008
2009
2010
2012
Yes
16
26
25
34
42
39
42
52
50
No
79
69
73
63
54
58
55
45
47
Difficult to say
5
5
2
3
4
3
3
3
3
Source: CBOS 2012a.
Note: Answers in % to the following question: “Do people like you have influence on the affairs
of their city/municipality?”
Research has also shown that “the belief in the ability to influence the
affairs of the country is associated with participation in the parliamentary elections. First, those who reported participation in voting in the last
elections to the Sejm and the Senate have a sense of having an influence
on public affairs more often than non-voters. Second, the respondents who
believe that the situation in the country depends on them, more often than
not having such a sense, claim that they would participate in potential parliamentary elections” (ibid.).
At the same time, according to the Report, more than a half of Poles
(54%) have never engaged in any form of civic activity (collection of money
for social activities, signing a petition, participation in a political meeting
or in a demonstration, donating money for political activities, boycotting
goods due to political reasons), and more than two-thirds (69%) showed
no initiative in this regard in the year 2012, when the research was done.
Only 19% of respondents declared an engagement in at least one the forms
of civic participation whenever in the past, whereas 26% of people participated in more than two forms of activity (ibid.: 5).
The research also allows the conclusion to be drawn that the activity of
the public is determined by demographic factors such as their education,
place of residence, and income. Almost all of these forms of activity were
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declared more frequently by respondents with higher education, residents of
the largest cities, and those earning the highest income per capita (ibid.: 6).
As evidenced by the studies that are cited, the belief that ordinary people
have an influence on what is happening in the country or in their locality is clearly related to the degree of their involvement in various forms of
civic and social activities (ibid.).
Participation is both a word and an idea that is used very often in relation to many aspects of the decision-making process. This applies primarily to the way the decisions are made and the persons authorised to
participate in this process, irrespective of whether the decision is taken at
a high political level or locally (affecting only a small group of people).
For the purposes of this chapter, the concept of political participation
should be understood as that shown in the definition given by Dagmir Długosz and Jan Jakub Wygnański. These authors understand civic participation
as a “process in which citizens gain influence and, indirectly, control over
the decisions of public authorities, where such decisions have a direct or
indirect impact on their own interests. Political participation differs from
the traditional participation in the electoral process and is organised by
using other methods. Citizens who exert an influence on a regulation at
an early stage of its development are more likely to engage in its implementation” (Długosz, Wygnański 2005). In the processes of participating
it is possible to use several instruments, e.g. public consultations, referenda, petitions, public hearings, citizens’ initiatives in resolution-making,
demonstrations or protests.
One of the most important forms of participatory relationships between
the government and citizens is public consultations. These are an essential
element of democratic rights and should form the basis of a well-understood idea of self-government by which people actively participate in community life and in the shaping of important principles to be followed.
The definition of a public consultation adopted for the purposes of
this study is that it is an organised method for obtaining the opinions of
the public and the standpoints of the entities (i.e. the individuals and institutions) that are directly or indirectly affected by the measures that are
proposed. The plans for these projects may be included in projects such
as legislation, various programmes, and strategies, but also the budgets of
public entities (CBOS 2011).
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Analysing the above definition, one should pay attention to some of its
essential elements. First, it draws attention to the fact that the consultation process has a defined formal framework and is officially run by the
institution. Second, the process is managed by the public authorities, and
therefore should be planned and adequate for the purpose the authority is
trying to achieve. Third, the consultation must involve any decision taken
by the administration. Finally, the fourth objective of consultation is to
seek observations from interested stakeholders or broader public opinion.
The Number
of Consultations
NO
YES
NO DATA
2013:
associations: 32
foundations: no data
other NGOs: 9
NO
2011 - 9
2012 - 9
2013 - 5
KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE
Civic Budget
Public Consultations
In total 2002: 434
In total 2006: 556
In total 2010: 587
In total 2011: 613
In total 2012: 632
2013:
associations: 47
foundations: 4
other NGOs: 11
The Number of
Non-Governmental
Organisations (Ngos)
Municipal Programme of
Cooperation With Non-Governmental Organisations (Ngos)
OPOLE
2010 - 1
2011 - 6
2012 - 8
2013 - 2
YES
A Consultation Unit for NGOs
and the position of Plenipotentiary for cooperation
with NGOs were created by a
decree of the city’s President
Municipality
2010 - 3
2011 - 5
2012 - 12
2013 – 8a
2013b
associations: 43
other NGOs: 16
YES
A Resolution of the City
Council determined how to
consult with NGOs and other
stakeholders
NYSA
Table 14. Forms of participation and frequency of their use selected
municipalities (2010–2013)
YES
in 2013
YES
NO DATA
YES
NO DATA
2011 - 2
2012 - 2
2013:
associations: 4
foundations:no data
other NGOs: 4
2013:
associations: 2
foundations: no data
other NGOs: no data
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Civic Budget
The Number of
Non-Governmental
Organisations (Ngos)
The Number
of Consultations
Public Consultations
Municipal Programme of
Cooperation With Non-Governmental Organisations (Ngos)
GŁUCHOŁAZY
2011 - 1
2012 - 3
GŁOGÓWEK
Municipality
NO
NO
Source: Author’s own elaboration based on data provided by the analysed cities.
Notes: a) the figures relate to the period from January to June 2013, as in the case of
other municipalities; b) Data on the number of NGOs reported only by the city
of Opole. The other municipalities do not keep a registry of NGOs operating in
their area. Therefore, the data were downloaded from the website of the National
Court Register (http://www.krs-online.com.pl/lista_form_prawnych.html) and they
are approximate values. The numbers are only those registered in the National
Court Register of associations and foundations. The other institutional forms of
non-governmental organisations could not be identified on the basis of the data
from the National Court Register.
It should be noted that only Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Opole have specific
procedures and procedures for conducting public consultations. The other
municipalities do not have such documents.
As follows from the data in Table 14 above, the municipalities under
study use this tool of social participation relatively rarely. It is used most
frequently by municipalities and the city with district rights. In rare cases,
these are rural communities. Typically, municipalities use it in the preparation of those documents where the participation of citizens results from
provisions laid down by law, such as the development strategy or spatial
development plan. So, in developing their municipal strategies, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Opole, Nysa, and Głogówek also made use of consultations.
94
For instance in Kędzierzyn-Koźle a consultation was carried out using
a questionnaire form on the website of the City Council in order to allow
public participation in the development of a strategic document. The possibility of filling in the questionnaire was announced on the website of
the city and in the press. A working draft document was sent to the city’s
companies and agencies for consultation and for them to make comments.
Work is currently under way on another such document and this also provides for public consultation during its progress.
By developing its Development Strategy for the years 2012–2020 partly through public consultation, which lasted from May 2011 to May 2012,
the city of Opole conducted a public debate which was attended by over
1000 people. During the work on this paper a Consultative Group on
issues related to the development of the new development strategy was
established, IDC (inter-divisional consultations) conducted in the City of
Opole, and consultative meetings with the residents of the city were held
(in six areas of the city). During these consultation meetings the method
of a workshop was used for the first time. Residents and representatives
of district councils worked in groups under the guidance of facilitators,
which made it possible to collect and organise ideas and suggestions from
different social backgrounds. In addition, consultations were carried out
within the framework of the strategic environmental assessment as required for the document.
Political representatives of Nysa also presented the draft of its Municipal Development Strategy for Nysa 2004–2015 for public consultation.
Residents of the city, NGOs, and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to
read the document and to express an opinion and indicate the issues that
should be contained in it. Work recently began on the Development Strategy for the Nysa Commune for the years 2014–2023. Two groups were
established: a Group for the development of guidelines for the Strategy,
which includes representatives from universities, the Cultural Council,
the Council of Senior Citizens, and sports and business circles, and the
Team to Work on the Strategy, which includes residents of municipalities,
NGOs, and the local media.
The city of Głogówek, however, delegated work on the Strategy of the
Commune in the years 2000–2010 to an external company, which held a
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public consultation (meetings) and put the relevant information on the
website of the municipality.
It should be noted that the urban communes surveyed here (Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Nysa) and the city with district rights made use of public
consultations in the development of other documents. Nysa consulted
cooperation programmes with NGOs and other entities performing public duties starting from 2008. Nysa also consulted its Local Revitalisation
Programme for the years 2009–2015. These consultations were carried out
in the form of open meetings with residents of the community, businesses,
and employees of public entities. The commune did not make such arrangements for the Municipal Programme for the Protection of Monuments
in the years 2013–2016 as no consultation is required in these cases.
Kędzierzyn-Koźle made use of this type of arrangement in the development of the document concerning the delimitation of the boundaries of
the Kędzierzyn-Koźle Subregional Functional Area. During the work on
this 14 public and expert consultations were carried out. In the case of its
city revitalisation programme, information about a meeting for the people and institutions functioning in the city (during which proposals for
investment plans adopted as part of the revitalisation were collected) was
published in the local press. In addition, for a limited time period it was
possible to submit proposals for projects in the City.
The City of Opole used consultations organised in the form of meetings
with residents in developing seven documents, e.g. the Opole Agglomeration Development Strategy (2014–2020), the Local Regeneration Programme
of the City of Opole (2007–2015), and the Development Programme for
integrated urban transport and mobility management. Four other documents regarding the environmental protection in the city were subject to
the procedure of consultation.
In turn, public consultations conducted via Internet were used during
the development of the Municipal Drug Prevention Programme for the
period 2011–2015, the Municipal Action Programme for Persons with Disabilities in the City of Opole in the years 2011–2015, the Local Activity
Programme for the City of Opole for the years 2012–2013, and three other
programmes. For all consultation documents to be agreed there were no
comments.
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However, the integration strategy and social policy for the City of Opole
in the years 2004–2015, the local programme for family and child care, and
four other programmes related to public health were not agreed with the
residents in any way.
The Municipality of Głogówek provided information concerning the
Local Development Programme for the Municipality of Głogówek for the
years 2004–2013, the strategy that included promoting the development of
the tourism sector, and the local urban renewal programmes in Głogówek
for the years 2005–2006 and 2007–2013. All the documents were created
by external entities, and therefore the city do not have any documentation regarding the process of their creation, but only a “finished product.”
Another aspect of social participation for which the municipalities which
were surveyed were asked to provide data was their participation in public
consultation on the provincial or governmental strategic and programming
documents. As is clear from the information provided, only the urban communes, i.e. Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Nysa, and the City of Opole, were involved.
Głogówek did not participate in such consultations.
The study also analysed the attitudes of councillors towards the active
participation of citizens in making important decisions.4 82.6% of them
found it “definitely important” or “rather important,” but only 17.4% rather or definitely not important. Similar results were found in response to
the question: “Should citizens have the opportunity to express their views
before important decisions are made?” As many as 90.7% of the respondents considered it “definitely important” or “rather important,” and only
9.3% “rather not important”.
The answers to the following question – “Should the citizens of the city
have an impact on local politics beyond the election?” – were slightly different. 49.4% of the councillors found it “definitely important” or “rather
important”, and as many as 41.6% of the respondents considered that possibility to be “definitely not important” or “rather not important.”
4
The survey was conducted among all elected representatives of the selected cities
in both countries (members of the city councils Poland and members of municipal
assemblies in the Czech Republic). In total, there are 107 councillors in selected Polish
cities, and 90 of them participated in the survey. The survey’s response rate was 84.1%.
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To the question: “Should decisions reflect the views of the majority of
the citizens of the city?” 86.2% of the councillors said it is “definitely important” or “rather important”, while only 13.8% considered it “definitely
not important” or “rather not important”. As many as 79.1% of the councillors considered the passivity of citizens to be the biggest threat to the
city, 12.8% of them did not have a definite opinion about it, and 8.1% said
that it is not the biggest threat to the city.
It is also interesting how the councillors in the municipalities that were
surveyed evaluate the procedures for the approval of certain decisions on
public issues. More than 83% of the respondents considered the procedures
definitely suitable or rather appropriate. Only about 16% of them answered
that they are rather or definitely inappropriate.
The respondents were also asked to evaluate a procedure allowing citizens to approve the city’s budget (civic budget). The responses differ from
the results of the previous question. About 47% of the respondents considered these procedures to be definitely or rather appropriate and as many
as 53% of them definitely or rather inappropriate.
At the same time 61.8% of the respondents approved of citizens’ direct
involvement in the process of making decisions by local government authorities in relation to the city budget, and only 38.2% did not approve of this.
As for the distribution of the answers according to the city, it is met
with the greatest aproval by the city councillors of the large cities, i.e. Opole and Nysa, and to a lesser extent those of Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Głuchołazy, and Głogówek. In contrast, in matters concerning education, 52.8% of
the respondents do not approve of the participation of citizens in making
such decisions, while 47.2% of the respondents support their participation
in decision making. The most positive attitudes are those of the city councillors from Opole, Nysa, and Głuchołazy, while the city councillors from
Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Głogówek disapprove of such steps.
However, the city councillors do approve of the involvement of local
inhabitants in decision making on environmental issues, something which
was declared by 61.8% of the respondents, with only 38.2% presenting a
different opinion. The largest number of councillors who support this are
the city councillors of Nysa and Kędzierzyn-Koźle, while the councillors
in Głogówek disagree.
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The councilors expressed a similar opinion in relation to the involvement of citizens in decision making concerning the creation of the urban
development plan – as many as 77.5% of them approve of this. Such an
opinion was held by the majority of the councillors from all the municipalities that were surveyed. A smaller percentage (57.3%) of them welcome
the inclusion of citizens in decision making related to important changes in
urban planning. This is the opinion of a majority of the councillors from
all the municipalities except Nysa. Only 2.2 % of the councillors said that
citizens should not be involved in any decisions of the government. 33.3%
of the respondents approve of using the opportunity to involve citizens in
matters relating to their safety and the maintenance of order in residential
areas. As many as 33.3 % would like the members of their community to
be included in decision making in all matters affecting them.
Consideration of the role of NGOs in civic participation should be preceded by an explanation of the term. In Polish law, the definition of an NGO
can be found in the Act of April 24, 2003 on Public Benefit Activity and
Volunteer Work. In accordance with Art. 3 of the Act, non-governmental
organisations are: 1) entities which do not form part of the public finance
sector as defined in the Act on Public Finance; 2) entities which do not
operate for profit – corporate and non-corporate entities, which, according
to separate legal provisions, have the capacity to perform acts in law, such
as foundations and associations, subject to paragraph 4.
NGOs include not only entities that have a legal personality, but also
ones which do not have such a personality (e.g. “ordinary” associations,
university students’ organisations, farmers’ wives’ associations).
The literature usually points out distinguishing features of non-governmental organisations. They have voluntary nature of the creation and
activities, and a formal status. Members of the NGOs do not share profits
of activities of the organisations which are independent from the state and
work for the common good (Kłos 1994).
The presence of non-governmental organisations in special consultative
bodies results from downstream legislation – laws, regulations, rules, and
at the level of local government, the resolutions and programmes for cooperation with NGOs. No reference is made to acting in a higher order of
precedence; for bodies operating at the central level it results in a lack of
uniform standards that would determine minimum rights for cooperating
99
with public non-governmental organisations (Celiński 2011). However, in
recent years there have been numerous measures strengthening the position of NGOs in Poland in their relations with the authorities at all levels.
It is worth mentioning the Law on Public Benefit Activity and Volunteer
Work, together with the significant changes which have recently been introduced in an amendment. This law is certainly not free of defects, but
undeniably is fundamental to forming relationships between the authorities
and non-governmental organisations. It has introduced the need for self-government bodies at all levels to develop a programme of cooperation
with non-governmental organisations (this programme is the basic document on which the municipality determines the principles of cooperation
between the local authorities and NGOs acting in the area).
Today, virtually every community in Poland has a programme of cooperation with these organisations, and more than half of them have the
ability to gain access to public funds on the basis of clear rules; this would
probably not have been possible without the introduction of this regulation.
However, the lack of constitutional guarantees for the role and position of
non-governmental organisations as social partners is noticeable.
Each of the municipalities that were surveyed has a municipal programme of cooperation with NGOs. Kędzierzyn-Koźle has its procedure for
public consultation with NGOs defined in a separate document. Opole
even created a Consultation Unit for NGOs and a Plenipotentiary for cooperation with NGOs. Only Opole was also able to provide data on the
number of non-governmental organisations functioning in the area. The
other municipalities do not keep such information, as it is not required by
legislation. However, one should ask how the programmes that work with
these organisations have been agreed upon by them and how the policy of
local authorities is carried out by these organisations, if they are not identified. It should also be noted that the majority of the municipalities that
were surveyed, except Głogówek, declare that they cooperate with NGOs
in developing local programmes, plans, and projects.
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Conclusions and recommendations
As this research focused on only the five municipalities in the province of
Opole, its conclusions and recommendations are hypotheses and require
further investigation and analysis.
1. Public consultations are usually carried out by local government authorities in cases where the need to consult residents results from legal
provisions, and not with the claim that citizens have the right to participate in the discourse, in decision making on important matters for
their existence.
2. More often, public consultation in the form of direct meetings with
residents or business representatives and NGOs is used by large municipalities, or urban municipalities than by urban-rural ones. It is very
strange that in smaller communities such action is easier to take, at
least because of the smaller number of stakeholders who can be part
of it. Smaller municipalities prefer to use an online form of agreeing
on decisions, probably because of its low cost, but also because of their
negative attitude to this type of project.
3. Public consultation through direct meetings with citizens is carried out
in the event of a need to agree with them on the most important decisions from the point of view of the development of community (and
therefore the government) and not from the point of view of the population, such as in developing a community development strategy or
spatial development plan. Only the City of Opole made use of this form
of participation in developing other programmes/plans, for example, the
Environmental Noise Control Programme for the City of Opole.
4. When agreeing on other documents, such as, for example, a Municipal
Drug Prevention Programme, municipalities use web forms of consultation, which seems to be ineffective, first, because there is little or no
response from the community (all such consultations, according to the
information sent by the municipality, ended without any comments
from the stakeholders), and second, because of the tool selected, only
those people who have access to the internet have the ability to express
themselves
5. To increase the effectiveness of cooperation with NGOs, the municipalities being surveyed should make a detailed analysis of these stakeholders, for example by maintaining a database of such organisations in
101
their area, including the sectors in which the individual organisations
operate. This will allow the more effective selection of tools to communicate with these organisations and the opportunity to build lasting
cooperation. Taking into account that NGOs take over some tasks from
communities, it seems to be necessary.
6. It also seems necessary to extend the scope of the public consultation
in order to locate residents of the community at the centre of public
discourse on all the issues relating to the role of the municipality, and
hence all the problems it faces in its everyday life.
7. Public consultations fulfil an important role in a democratic country, but
their effectiveness is questionable, as they often appear to be an attempt
to legitimise the decisions of the authorities, and, in particularly extreme
cases, to shift the responsibility for unpopular decisions to residents.
8. Although most studies (e.g. CBOS) show that citizens express a keen
interest in participating in consultations, their actual participation in
them is low.
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8 THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR MUNICIPAL
POLITICS IN POLAND
Piotr Klimontowski
In Polish self-government law, the relationship with the constitutional law
is particularly evident, as usually the basis of local government is regulated by the Constitution, but above all it is the subject of the science of
administrative law. This is not surprising, because the location of the local
government makes it suitable for the efficient management of state affairs,
which can only be achieved by the division of competencies and effective
problem solving on the local scale. There are also some links between systemic self-government law and other legal disciplines (such as the use of
civil law in the management of municipal property, issues of local government finances and financial law, etc.). Considered against the background
of the legal system as a whole, local government law is closely related to
public law. This includes both systemic organisational issues and material
relating to the operation of local government “outside” (e.g. a municipality
or district acting as the owner of a property has a contract with individuals
or other entities that are organisationally independent of the government,
or establishes rules ius cogens or when it concerns accounting in local
government, etc.). Systemic elements concern the fixing of the essential
features of local government, its organisational forms, principles of operation, and territorial structures, the problems of the citizens of municipalities and their voting rights, the types of self-government power, local
government’s tasks, supervision over the local government, etc. It should
also be kept in mind that the local government – as a form of decentralisation of government – is not only an administrative phenomenon, but
also a political one par excellence. It can work properly only in terms of
the democratic system.
8 The legal framework for municipal politics in Poland
103
The democracy of self-government law could not be verified only by
identification and analysis of its basic principles, but a necessary condition
is to confirm the implementation of these principles in specific provisions
and the practice of political life.
The Constitution of the Republic of Poland of
April 2, 1997
The role of the government was significantly strengthened by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997. Articles relating to local
government can be found in Chapter I. Art. 15, Paragraph 1 states that “The
territorial system of the Republic of Poland shall ensure the decentralisation
of public power.” This provision is, from the point of view of the structure
of local government, recognised in the context of Art. 16 Paragraph 1 (The
inhabitants of the units of a basic territorial division shall form a self-governing community in accordance with the law), which implies that the
main distribution of the country’s territory is constituted for the purposes
of local government. In turn, the basic constitutional principle, the principle of subsidiarity, although its significance goes far beyond the sphere
of local government, was formulated in the Preamble to the Constitution
(“Hereby establish this Constitution of the Republic of Poland as the basic
law for the State, based on respect for [...] as well as on the principle of
subsidiarity in the strengthening of the powers of citizens and their communities”). Local government is referred to by the provisions that deal with
the sources of law, namely in relation to local law (Art. 87 Paragraph 2 and
Art. 94), as well as Art. 184, which defines the administrative jurisdiction in
relation to the rules on conformity with the laws of the resolutions of the
local government organs: “The Supreme Administrative Court and other
administrative courts shall exercise, to the extent specified by statute, control over the performance of the public administration. Such control shall
also extend to judgments on conformity with the statute of the resolutions
of the local government organs and normative acts of territorial organs of
government administration,” and Art. 203. Paragraph 2, under which the
Supreme Chamber of Control shall have the right to control the activities
of local government, municipal corporations, and other communal organisational units regarding matters of legality, economic prudence, and
104
diligence (“The Supreme Chamber of Control may audit the activity of
local government organs, communal legal persons, and other communal
organisational units regarding matters of legality, economic prudence, and
diligence”). By placing the regulation of the main principles that create a
framework for local government in the constitution and placing them in a
prestigious position in the scheme of the Act, as in the section “Rzeczpospolita”, the guiding principle of the political system has been established.
Moreover, another separate part of the Constitution, entitled “Local
Government,” is exclusively dedicated to the local government. It contains
10 articles in its Chapter VII (Articles 163–172).
The constitutional legislator does not link the regional government
with the provinces (voivodeships). A province, according to Article 152,
Paragraph 1 of the Constitution, is an operating area for a governor, that
is, the authority of the state government (“The Voivode shall be the representative of the Council of Ministers in a voivodeship”). In order that the
governor might oversee the operations of the regional government (Article
171, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution), the division into regions, however,
must be fully coordinated with the division by provinces, which means
that region cannot cross the borders of Province but there may be more
than one region within a Province.
In 1998, the Sejm introduced three levels of administrative divisions,
adding to the existing municipal local government (gmina) two other
types of local government, the district (powiat) and provincial (województwo) ones.
An innovation in the Constitution is that, as a result of Article 169,
Paragraph.2, there is a clear requirement for direct elections to the local
government legislative bodies, regardless of their level. The possibility of
introducing by law the direct election of the executive bodies of local government units was also introduced.
European Union law
Since May 1, 2004, Poland has been a Member State of the European Union; it operates within the sphere of the wider Community acquis (acquis
communautaire), known as the European Union law. Although local
government issues were not explicity covered in the standards of Europe-
105
an law, this law affects Polish local government and Polish local government
law. This applies particularly to the issues listed below:
1. the right to vote and stand in municipal elections in the Member State
in which a citizen of an EU Member State resides, under the same conditions as nationals. In order to implement this law it was necessary to
make amendments to the electoral law and constitutional local government laws. Starting from the local government elections in 2006, in
elections in a municipality, citizens of the Union residing in that municipality are entitled to vote and stand for election on an equal footing
with nationals of Poland, while allowing positions in executive bodies
at all levels for Polish citizens – these rules have been adopted into the
Election Code (Ustawa z dnia 5 stycznia 2011 r. – Kodeks wyborczy);
2. the impact of the EU classification of territorial units for statistics
(NUTS) (Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common
classification of territorial units for statistics);
3. the issue of solidarity, economic, and social cohesion;
4. the participation of the Polish local and regional authorities in the EU
advisory body, the Committee of the Regions;
5. “the right to good administration” (Świątkiewicz 2002; Szydło 2004).
The European Union has a constitutional impact on local authorities,
which is not due only to European legislation itself, but also to the general effects of the measures to create a more integrated Europe (Jasiński,
Ross 2000:12).
International agreements
In accordance with Art. 91 Paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Republic
of Poland, a ratified international agreement, after its publication in the
Journal of Laws, is, as a source of law, generally binding and part of the domestic legal order, and is applied directly. In terms of local self-government
agreements among those of particular importance is the European Charter
of Local Self-Government, signed in Strasbourg on October 15, 1985, and
published in the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland in 1994. The
starting points in the European Charter of Local Self-Government are both
the role of local government as an instrument of citizens’ participation in
106
the conduct of public affairs on the basis of the principles of democracy
and the decentralisation of power, and the need to recognise the principle
of local self-government in legislation. Local government is determined (in
Art. 3) as “the right and the ability of local authorities, within the limits of
the law, to regulate and manage a substantial share of public affairs under
their own responsibility and in the interests of the local population.” The
Charter contains, inter alia, provisions relating to the scope of the activities of the local government corresponding to the principle of subsidiarity,
the legal protection of local government, its financial independence, and
forms of consultation with the local community.
Another significant set of guidelines for local politics stems from the
European Charter of Regional Self-Government, adopted on June 5, 1997
by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, although this has not been ratified by Poland. The document gives the
regions power to conduct cross-border cooperation similar to the powers
of the local communities in the European Charter of Local Self-Government. According to the provisions of the Charter, the region should be the
subject of local government conducting its own policy and international
cooperation. Regions should also have the power to create their own laws
within certain laws of individual countries (Kuśmierek 1998).
Also of essential practical significance in the activities of local government units is the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Cooperation between Territorial Communities or Authorities, signed in Madrid
on May 21, 1980, and proclaimed, when ratified, in the Journal of Laws
in 1993 (CoE 1980). The Convention has two parts. Whereas the first part
contains the legally binding regulations of the treaties, the second part lists
a series of ‘model agreements’, both for the inter-state and the local levels,
as options for possible cross-border cooperation arrangements. The legally
binding obligation the Convention imposes on the signatory states is to
facilitate cross-border cooperation between territorial authorities and to
promote the conclusion of agreements that may prove necessary for this
purpose. The Convention also contains various optional ‘model agreements,’
grouped into two categories, i.e. inter-state agreements on the one hand,
and contracts between local authorities on the other. The Convention states
that cross-border cooperation arrangements can be set up as independent
bodies which may or may not have legal personality.
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The presence of these solutions demonstrates the role that local politics
plays in the European Union. The integration and globalisation phenomena are accompanied by a trend towards individualisation, autonomy, and
individuality.
Polish legislation on local government
Among the laws on local self-government constitutional laws are of particular importance. They have the character of public law, in the sense that
they relate to issues that are relevant to public law, such as the structure,
scope, and mode of operations of the respective public authorities. They
may also be Acts within the meaning of the doctrine of the civil law, such
as defining the various types of legal entities in terms of their representation in civil relations.The most important constitutional laws are: Commune
Self-government Act (1990), Act on District Self-Government (1998), Act
on Regional Government (1998).
It is worth noting that the Commune Self-government Act has been in
operation for eight years longer than the others. In Art. 164 § 1 the Constitution makes it the basic unit of local government (“the municipality shall
be the basic unit of local government”). In subsequent years the local government system solidified and ultimately adopted a three-level structure.
A very important position in terms of the regulatory system of local
government is occupied by the Election Code adopted on January 5, 2011,
which entered into force on August 1, 2011; the new electoral rules will
apply to elections in 2015.
Another dimension is the Constitutional Act of June 20, 2002 on the
direct elections of the heads of commune and the mayors and presidents
of cities (Ustawa o bezpośrednim wyborze wójta, burmistrza i prezydenta
miasta, 2002), which introduced a new structure of the executive; currently
the authority is not collective but exercised individually, chosen by direct
election, and can be removed by means of a referendum.
The catalogue of the institutional provisions shaping local government
in Poland also includes these, among others:
1. Law on the structure of the capital city, Warsaw (Ustawa o ustroju miasta stołecznego Warszawy, 1994), which is complementary to the Law
on Local Self-Government;
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2. Act on the fundamental three-level territorial division of the State (Ustawa o wprowadzeniu zasadniczego trójstopniowego podziału terytorialnego państwa, 1998);
3. Law on Local Referenda (Ustawa o referendum lokalnym, 2000);
4. Act on the principles of local governments’ accession to international
associations of local and regional communities (Ustawa o zasadach przystępowania jednostek samorządu terytorialnego do międzynarodowych
zrzeszeń społeczności lokalnych i regionalnych, 2000).
The following laws are applied to the institutions closely associated with
local authorities: a Regional Chamber of Auditors (Ustawa o regionalnych
izbach obrachunkowych, 1992) and the Law on the Local Government
Appellate Board (Ustawa o samorządowych kolegiach odwoławczych, 1994).
A special borderline between constitutional law and administrative
material law can be traced to the Law on Local Government Employees
(Ustawa o pracownikach samorządowych, 1990), which regulates the legal
status of workers employed in municipal offices, their auxiliary units, and
in the offices of municipal associations and other local councils, as defined in the regulations, the Act on the limitation of economic activity by
persons performing public functions (Ustawa o ograniczeniu prowadzenia
działalności gospodarczej przez osoby pełniące funkcje publiczne, 1997),
the Public Finance Act ( Ustawa o finansach publicznych, 2009), the Act
on Municipal Management (Ustawa o gospodarce komunalnej, 1996), and
the Act on Local Taxes and Charges (Ustawa o podatkach i opłatach lokalnych, 1991).
The law also requires the regulation of the organisational structure of
the local government units in the statutes of the entity. The statute falls
into the category of provisions of a generally binding nature as a special
category of local law – a local legal act.
Among the systemic acts, but on the lower order of statutes, regulations
include, in particular rules of councils and the organisational regulations
in the Municipal Office, District Office, and the Marshal’s Office (Urząd
Marszałkowski) of Governor of Province. It should also be noted that the
law also regulates the existence of statutes in the following entities: auxiliary units of municipalities, municipal associations, associations between
districts and associations of local government units.
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Summary
Polish local government is already, on its three different levels, well established constitutionally, and practically expresses the idea of self-government. After more than two decades, the government should be viewed as
being less ideological and more pragmatic. The local government regime
in Poland is subject to regulation by the Constitution, rules of international
law, ordinary laws, and local regulations in the form of statutes.
The strengthening and development of the idea of self-government and
self-government institutions depend on changes in the respective direction in the regulatory sphere. These changes can be influenced by many
factors. These include, among others, reliable information about the experiences of local government and the difficulties faced by it. It seems that
in addition to significant progress in creating not only a legal basis, but
also real government institutions, from time to time there are tendencies
towards centralisation.
Part III
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9 LOCAL POLITICS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC:
PRINCIPLES, FUNCTIONING AND MAIN ISSUES
Pavel Šaradín
The reinstatement of local self-government was one of the most necessitous changes which occurred in the Czech Republic immediately after
the November 1989 changes. The first free parliamentary elections were
held in 1990, economic, social and political reforms were launched and in
fall 1990 the first elections to self-governing bodies were organized. The
functioning of the local government was addressed in Constitutional Act
No. 294/1990 Coll., which changed and amended Constitutional Act No.
100/1960 Coll., the Constitution of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic,
and Constitutional Act No. 143/1968 Coll., on the Czechoslovak Federation.
The law abbreviated the term in office of the national committees, served
as the constitutional framework for reforming the local administration,
abolishing the system of national committees and reinstating self-government at the municipal level.
The most important laws implementing a local administration reform
were, in particular, Act No. 367/1990 Coll., on Municipalities (the municipal system), Act No. 90/1993 Coll., on the Capital City of Prague, Act
No. 425/1990 Coll., on District Offices, and finally Act No. 368/1990 Coll.,
on Elections to Municipal Assemblies. Until 2000 these laws constituted
the essential legislative regulation that governed the functioning of the self-administration. In 1997 a Constitutional Act on the Creation of Regions
was adopted (Act No. 347/1997 Coll.), which fulfilled the Constitution of
the Czech Republic. The Constitution presupposed the establishment of
higher territorial self-governing units, without however specifying them
any further. The lawmakers adopted a norm which introduced 14 regions,
including the Capital City of Prague. In 2000 a batch of laws was adopted related to the local government: No. 128/2000 Coll., on Municipali-
9 Local politics in the Czech Republic: principles, functioning and main issues
113
ties (the municipal system), No. 129/2000 Coll., on Regions (the regional
system), No. 130/2000 Coll., on Elections to Regional Assemblies, No.
131/2000 Coll., on the Capital City of Prague, and No. 132/2000 Coll., on
the Change and Abolition of Some Laws Related to the Act on Regions,
the Act on Municipalities, the Act on District Offices and the Act on the
Capital City of Prague.
As for the Capital City of Prague, its role after the division of Czechoslovakia was treated in Act No. 90/1993 Coll., on the Capital City of
Prague, as already stated. The Capital City was a municipality and—since
January 1, 2000—a region, as stipulated in Constitutional Act No. 347/1997
Coll. The territory of the Capital City of Prague is divided into city quarters, which were established with the force of Act No. 418/1990 Coll. City
quarters either replaced former national committees or were established
anew pursuant to this Act. Relations between the Capital City of Prague
and the municipal quarters are treated directly in the Act on the Capital
City of Prague and special laws, and by the Statute of the Capital City of
Prague, which commits tasks to municipal quarters beyond the framework
of the Act on the Capital City in terms of self-administrative powers (self-government) as well as transferred powers (state administration at the
local level). To the extent defined by the law and the statute, municipal
quarters enter into legal relations in their own name and are liable with
respect to these relations.
Principles governing local elections
The first free elections to municipal assemblies in 1990 showed that this was
not only a vote against the past (the Civic Forum versus the Communist
Party of Czechoslovakia), as was the case in the parliamentary elections in
spring. New, transformed or renewed political parties, associations of independent candidates and individual independent candidates were entering
local politics. Their involvement in local politics was made possible by the
election-related legislation. The political choice was thus very diverse. At
the end of 1990 the wide-spectrum Civic Forum disintegrated and several
successor projects participated in the second municipal elections in 1994.
In terms of the vote received, the Civic Democratic Party was the strongest.
It can be gleaned from the number of seats that in small municipalities
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one or two parties were formed in succession of the former Civic Forum
based on independent candidates and their associations. The passive and
active right to vote is 18 years of age. Whereas a citizen who has reached
the age of 21 can be elected to be a Member of the Parliament, to perform
the duties of a mayor it is enough to reach the age of 18.
Act No. 152/1994 Coll., replaced the required number of signatures necessary to register with a percentage share of the population. Hundreds
of signatures that had to be collected in 1990, turned into thousands and
tens of thousands in large cities only four years later. Rather than reducing the number of independent candidate lists, this gradually resulted in
the formalisation of many groupings as well as in the fact that instead of
the laborious collection of signatures an entity would ask a registered political party or a movement and run under its head but often under a different name. Registration of political parties and political movements is
performed by the Ministry of Interior. Those who assemble candidate lists
gained another important instrument as the lawmaker accepted the order
of candidates. To move up a candidate list it was necessary to receive at
least 10 % more than was the average vote per candidate of the given party.
Preferential voting, or more precisely, the option to choose across candidate lists and choose candidates from different parties, is however not as
important as voters think because these votes are first counted toward the
gain of the political party, and only then is the priority of the candidate
taken into account (Lebeda 2009: 338). Case studies, however, suggest that
despite these difficulties the portion of representatives elected from an
unelectable position thanks to preferential voting is not negligible (Balík
2009). It depends on the size of the municipality, the candidate’s prominence and popularity, etc.
There are three ways voters can apply their votes. They have as many
votes as there are members of the elected assembly unless the municipality
is divided into election districts. The law makes such a division possible
but it is used by a negligible fraction of cities (for example Prague or Olomouc). If election districts are established, voters have as many votes as
there are seats to be distributed in the district. How is it possible to vote?
Voters can check the entire candidate list A; if there are 21 representatives
in the assemby and the political party offers this number of candidates, then
by checking a party a person gives the party all his/her 21 votes. Another
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option is to check an entire candidate list and candidates of other political
parties at the same time. If one gives a vote to candidates B and C, candidate list A gets only 19 of that person’s votes. These votes are allocated to
the first 19 candidates. The third option makes it possible to check candidates across parties, and in this way it is possible to check a maximum of 21
candidates. Naturally, it is not necessary to use all votes one has available.
The 2002 communal election results, held pursuant to Act No. 491/2001
Coll., were affected by the five-percent vote threshold necessary to enter
the process of seat allocation. This, together with the introduction of the
D’Hondt formula to convert votes to seats prevented smaller groupings
from succeeding in cities with larger assemblies. The lawmakers justified
the introduction of the threshold especially by the need to facilitate establishment of coalitions in cities, which was to be ensured by a smaller
number of parties in the assembly. Another reason was supposed to be
the unification of rules in the elections held in the Czech Republic based
on the principle of proportionality (which governs all elections with the
exception of those to the upper chamber of the Parliament).
Table 15. Shares of received vote and seats, by the proposing party in local
elections (1990–2010)
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
Political
parties
V
S
V
S
V
S
V
S
V
S
V
S
ČSSD
5.2
1.7
8.5
2.6
17.4
6.8
15.6
7.7
16.6
6.9
19.7
7.4
KDU-ČSL
10.9
12.0
7.2
12.2
10.7
11.4
9.6
9.6
5.8
8.0
5.5
6.0
KSČ(M)
16.8
14.4
13.6
9.4
13.6
9.2
14.6
9.3
10.8
7.0
9.6
5.2
–
–
29.6
11.7
24.2
9.1
25.4
9.4
36.4
11.4
18.8
8.3
OF 1990
36.8
32.2
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
SNK a NK
9.7
27.0
7.0
47.1
12.6
54.4
14.1
54.5
12.2
59.9
17.5
ODS
61.7
Source: Czech Statistical Office (www.volby.cz)
Notes: V = vote, S = seats, ČSSD – Czech Social Democratic Party
KDU-ČSL – Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People’s Party
KSČ(M) – Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (of Bohemia and Moravia)
ODS – Civic Democratic Party, OF 1990 – Civic Forum 1990
SNK a NK – Association of Independent Candidates and Independent Candidates
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To summarise briefly, in the twenty years of communal elections, candidature for smaller groupings has become stricter and the space has grown
for large parliamentary parties which, however, do not have enough party members to run in the elections. Table 15 shows what the percentages
were of party members among all candidates and representatives elected.
It shows, inter alia, that the portion of seats allocated to independent
groupings and independent candidates has been growing continually. The
Communist Party (KSČ(M)) and the Christian and Democratic Union
– Czechoslovak People’s Party (KDU-ČSL) were the two political parties
which at the beginning of the 1990s had tens of thousands of members
thanks to their existence prior to 1989. As the number of party members
has fallen, so has their representation in municipal assemblies. Just to specify, approximately 60,000 seats are divided in local elections.
The Elections Act allows candidature of a coalition of a political party
or a movement and independent candidates who, when not party members, are usually designated by the running party with the abbreviation
NK (independent candidate, nezávislý kandidát in Czech). In the category of municipalities, which the Czech Statistical Office defines as having a
population of approximately 3,000, none of the parliamentary parties can
put together a candidate list where its members form more than a half of
the candidates. The Communist Party approximates this most closely and
continues to have most party members among the Czech parliamentary
parties; it is therefore able to put its own party members on the candidate
lists more than the other parties. For tactical reasons, it probably does not
take advantage of this in the largest cities and the Capital City of Prague.
In Prague where its support is lesser than in smaller municipalities it tries
to attract voters with non-party members. With a growing municipality
size, the percentage of members among candidates increases especially in
the Czech Social Democratic Party and the Civic Democratic Party. For
example, in the last elections less than one quarter of the candidates on
the candidate lists of ČSSD in smaller municipalities consisted of party
members; in cities it was twice as many, approximately 45 %. Members
of the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People’s Party in
statutory cities in particular were largely helped to secure their seats by
candidates who were non-party members and whom the Christian Democrats increasingly include on their candidate lists, though primarily in
less electable positions.
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How the local government works
The term in office of a municipal representative in the Czech Republic is
four years. In addition to the municipal assembly, municipal bodies also
include the council and the mayor; in statutory cities it is the city mayor.
The size of the assembly depends primarily on the population. In the smallest municipalities with a population up to 500 it must be at least 5 people;
in the largest ones with a population over 150,000 it may be as many as
55. During each election term, municipal assemblies define the number of
members in the assemblies for the next term no later than 85 days before
the date of the elections, and if applicable decide whether the municipality
will be divided into election districts. The same rules apply to the elections
to all municipalities of which there are approximately 6,250. Pursuant to
the law a council is not established where the number of representatives is
below 15. It can be gleaned from Table 16 that there cannot be a municipality with a population over 10,000 that does not have a council.
Table 16. Overview of seats in Municipal Assemblies in terms of
municipality size
Population
Seats
Up to 500
5 to 15
500 to 3,000
7 to 15
From 3,000 to 10,000
11 to 25
From 10,000 to 50,000
15 to 35
From 50,000 to 150,000
25 to 45
Over 150,000
35 to 55
Source: Act on the Elections to Municipal Assemblies
The number of councillors must always be odd; councillors are always
also members of the assemblies and their number must not exceed one
third of the number of representatives. The number of councillors must
be between 5 and 11. Among themselves the municipal assembly elects the
Mayor or the City Mayor. The Mayor is elected indirectly and is responsible
to the municipal assembly, which is the only body with the power to recall
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the Mayor. Municipalities with a population over 3,000 can apply for the
status of a city. No all take advantage of this; equally, there are many cities
which do not have the requisite population. Cities of greater import may
apply to the Chamber of Deputies for the status of a statutory city. These
are more important cities which can be divided into districts or quarters
and can be governed by a special statute adopted by the city assemblies.
Today, there are 26 statutory cities in the Czech Republic. In 2006 the tradition of townships (central, more important municipalities) was renewed.
Powers of bodies
In the self-government the municipal assembly is the chief municipal body.
Apart from the fact that representatives elect and recall the mayor and the
council if it is established, they also adopt a number of crucial decisions.
The assembly adopts the budget and final account, makes decisions about
zoning plans and municipal development, establishes and closes down legal entities, budget contribution organisations and organisational agencies
of the municipality, issues generally binding regulations, establishes and
abolishes the municipal police, makes decisions about local referenda and
cooperation with other municipalities as well as the form of this cooperation, establishes and abolishes its advisory bodies (committees), elects and
recalls their chairpersons and members, etc. A municipal assembly has the
quorum if more than a half of all members of the assembly are present. A
resolution of an assembly is valid if more than a half of all representatives
agree with it. If the number of its members falls by more than a half, or
under five, the smallest number of assembly members, new elections are
called. The term of such a newly elected assembly is not four years but
lasts only until the regular elections.
Municipal assamblies must convene at least once every two months; if
a council has been formed in a municipality, then at least once every three
months. The municipal mayor usually convenes and presides over assembly meetings. The mayor is also obligated to convene a meeting if a third
of representatives or a regional governor should so request. If the mayor
fails to convene the assembly, it is done by the deputy mayor or another
member of the municipal assembly. The Ministry of Interior may disband
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a municipal assembly if it fails to convene in six months. Municipal assembly meetings are public.
A municipal council is an executive body at the local level. It consists
of the mayor, deputy mayor or other deputy mayors and councillors. The
council is elected and may be recalled by the municipal assembly. Within
its self-government remit, the council ensures management of the municipality according to the budget adopted by the assembly, issues municipal
decrees, establishes and abolishes its advisory bodies (committees), appoints and recalls their chairpersons and members, etc.
The mayor represents a municipality externally, and as has already been
stated, is responsible to the municipal assembly. In municipalities where
there is no council, the mayor is the only executive body. The mayor is
responsible for a timely order of an audit of the municipal management
for the previous calendar year, concludes and terminates employment contracts with municipal employees, sets their salaries according to special
regulations unless there is a municipal office secretary in the municipality. The mayor is primarily responsible for informing the public about the
activity in the municipality; where there is no municipal office secretary,
the mayor ensures the exercise of transferred powers, signs legal regulations of the municipality, convenes meetings of the municipal assembly, etc.
Main problems and issues in local politics
In 2010 it was for the first time that the movement Mayors and Independents was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, whose members were given
space on candidate lists of the conservative TOP 09. The movement has
long represented the interests of small municipalities in particular; one of
the demands they managed to push in the Chamber was a change in the
budgetary allocation of taxes. It essentially strengthened budgets of all municipalities to the detriment of the four largest ones (Prague, Brno, Ostrava
and Plzeň). The Mayors also became part of the government and contributed to its Programme Declaration. There again the government committed,
inter alia, “to obtain an analysis with the goal to create conditions for the
possibility of direct election of mayors in small municipalities, or possibly
in other types of territorial self-governing units.” The national government
declared that it “is convinced that strengthening elements of direct demo-
120
cracy will increase citizens’ interest in public life, especially participation in
elections. It will therefore propose a direct election of mayors, city mayors
and the President of the Republic.” The Ministry of Interior had two studies
carried out which were, however, more or less inspired only by the Slovak
experience and contained a number of shortcomings and errors (Jüptner,
Šaradín). Of the entire promised package only the direct election of the
President was implemented; in the case of mayors and regional governors
this has not yet happened. Some political parties see the institute of direct
election as a major reform measure, claiming that it would facilitate the
functioning of local government and increase citizen participation.
Some issues are however, more pressing, and the lawmakers should
concentrate on them. Which are these?
1. Above, the ambiguity of the Election Act has already been mentioned.
A voter believes that with a preferential vote s/he prioritizes a concrete candidate. Nevertheless, the vote first counts toward the gain of the
party or movement on whose list the candidate is running, and only
after reaching at least 10 % of the average vote for the entire candidate
list is the preferential vote considered. A voter may thus elect a leader
for whom s/he would never vote.
2. As we have stated, there is a huge number of municipalities in the Czech
Republic. The 2000 Act on Municipalities stipulates that a new municipality may be created through a separation from another municipality
if the population in its territory reaches at least 1,000. This condition
also applies to the part of the municipality from which the new one is
separating. In the Czech Republic approximately 80 % of municipalities
have a population of less than a thousand. Debates recur whether it is
efficient for a municipality to have, let’s say, a population of one hundred. Moreover, many small municipalities have big difficulties getting
together at least one candidate list the size of the municipal assemby. In
these municipalities there is no choice, and oftentimes when a member
of the body resigns, there is no one to replace him.
3. Strangely enough, there is also election fraud. This is not merely an issue
of vote buying when especially socially and economically marginalized
people are abused. In these cases the court must make election results
null (for example Krupka in Northern Bohemia). There is also the problem of artificial increase in the size of the population shortly before
the elections. The goal is to support a particular candidate (for exam-
121
ple the municipality of Karlova Studánka in Jeseníky. Here, an owner
of an accommodation facility moved tens of people into the rooms in
his facility, they got permanent residence there and so they could vote
for him. In this case, as well, the election result had to be annulled by
the court and the elections were repeated). More serious fraud includes
falsifying/meddling with the ballot. Of course, evidence is lacking. In
the Czech Republic, voters have the possibility to vote over two days,
and this also applies to local elections. At night there is space to make
invalid or modify the ballots even though voting urns are sealed and
the election rooms double-locked. In this type of elections, the Czech
Statistical Office unfortunately does not provide the number of invalid
votes; nevertheless, with a simple conversion we can discover in one
election district in Prague 11 that approximately 60 % of the votes were
invalid. This is more than suspicious. The number of invalid votes is
typically around two to three percent.
4. One final fact may be stated at least for discussion. In municipalities independent candidates needed on average 211 votes to win a seat whereas
the Civic Democratic Party, which succeeded in the more populous municipalities, needed on average 499 votes to win a seat. To get a seat in
statutory cities and Prague, the Civic Democratic Party needed 281 times
more votes than the Association on Independent Candidates and Independent Candidates to get the same in the category of a municipality.
5. In smaller municipalities candidates are more known. Citizens in a municipality know each other better than in large anonymous cities. It is
difficult to generalize, given the huge number of municipalities, but let
us use the example of the municipality of Veselíčko in the Přerov District. Of 707 eligible voters 449 voted, and the number of valid votes
was at least 431. The candidate of the Municipality and Family (Obec
a rodina) grouping won a seat with 79 votes. The candidate list “For the
Municipality More Beautiful” did not win a seat but 126 people voted for
its leader. The leader of the “For Merrier Veselíčko” became the mayor
with 166 votes; number two on the candidate list received only 73 votes.
Number 2 on this list received only 57 % of the most successful candidate running on the “For the Municipality More Beautiful” ballot, which
however does not have a seat. The question then is whether a relative
majority electoral system, for example, should not be implemented in
smaller municipalities, which would contribute to clarifying the situation.
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10 OLOMOUC REGION AND ITS CITIES
Karel Páral
The Olomouc Region was established by constitutional Act No. 347/1997
Coll. It was constituted as one of the fourteen higher territorial self-governing units. The Act entered into force on January 1, 2000. The first session
of the regional council took place on December 21, 2000.5 Geographically,
the Olomouc Region lies in central and northern Moravia. Its total area is
5266.56 km², which is 6.7% of the total area of the Czech Republic. From
a territorial-administrative perspective, together with the Zlín Region it
forms the cohesion region Central Moravia (NUTS 2).
The Olomouc Region constitutes of five districts with seats in Olomouc,
Prostějov, Přerov, Šumperk and Jeseník. The regional seat is the statutory
city of Olomouc, which also gives its name to the region. Olomouc was not
a regional seat before 1989. The previous territorial administrative division
of the country placed Olomouc and three other districts in the Northern
Moravian Region and the regional seat for the inhabitants of Olomouc was
at this time the city of Ostrava.
A portion of the modern day Olomouc Region that covers the district
of Prostějov was in the past part of the former Southern Moravian Region,
which had its seat in Brno. 6 The current area of the region was prior to
5
This first session elected the first president of the new region, Jan Březina from KDU-ČSL.
The post was after him held for one electoral period each by Ivan Kosatík (ODS) and
Martin Tesařík (ČSSD), and since 2012 has been held by Social Democrat Jiří Rozbořil.
6
Olomouc used to compete with Brno for the leading position in Moravia region.
Moravia had already been divided during the Přemyslid dynasty into Olomouc, Brno
and Znojmo lots. Brno later became the seat of the Moravian estates but the estates’
meetings were rotating between Brno and Olomouc. The 1948 reform abolished the
division of the country into lands and an Olomouc Region that was significantly larger
than the modern Olomouc Region was established. In 1960 it was as part of another
reform split between Southern Moravian, Northern Moravian, and Eastern Bohemian
regions.
10 Olomouc Region and its cities
123
1990 divided between two previously existing Moravian regions. This territorial division ended in 1990.
The administrative division of the Olomouc Region covers 13 administrative districts with extended powers and 20 administrative districts of
municipalities with an authorised municipal office.7 According to 2011 data,
the population of the Olomouc Region lived in 399 municipalities of which
30 possessed status of a city (Olomouc, Přerov and Prostějov are statutory
cities). 56.6% of the population lived in cities. In 2005, three more cities,
formerly part of the neighbouring Moravian-Silesian Region, joined the
Olomouc Region.8 The region furthermore includes 12 market towns and
the Libavá military training area.
The Olomouc Region shares borders with four other equivalent entities
– the Moravian-Silesian Region in the east, the Zlín and South Moravian
Regions in the south and the Pardubice Region in the west. Its northern
periphery has a 104 km long border with Poland. The Olomouc Region
cooperates with Opole Voivodeship in Poland in the areas of tourism,
transportation and regional development, among other areas.9 Municipalities around the border participate in Praděd Euroregion cross-border
cooperation.
7
Municipalities with an authorised municipal office (that is type II municipalities)
carry out public administration tasks through delegated acts and they perform the
same function for municipalities that are assigned to them. For example, both registry
office and building authority are subordinated to them. Municipalities with extended
powers (i.e. type III municipalities) have even more duties, and they are a connecting
link between regional authority and municipal authorities. They can for example issue
driving licenses or trade licenses.
8
This took place based on Act No. 387/2004 Coll. affecting the following municipalities:
Moravsky Beroun, Norbečany and Huzová.
9
The agreement between the Olomouc Region and Opole Voivodeship was signed on
July 9, 2002.
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Figure 2. Administrative division of the Olomouc Region
Source: Czech Statistical Office, www.czso.cz.
Population
The Olomouc Region is the sixth most populous region in the Czech Republic after Central Bohemia, Prague, Moravia-Silesia, South Moravia, and
Ustí nad Labem Regions. By the end of 2012 it had a population of almost
640 thousand, which represented amounted to 6% of the total population
of the Czech Republic.
A fundamental trend that we can trace here has been the constant
decrease in the region’s population since 1980. The results of the most
recent 2011 census and the most current statistical data for 2012 confirm
this long term decline. Among smaller territorial units in the region, only
Olomouc district shows a long-term population increase. The main causes
125
of the long-term decline in population numbers are the low fertility rate,
which corresponds with the trend in the national population, and migration mostly due to lack of employment opportunities. The northern part of
the region is losing its working-age population, which is clearly associated
with the high unemployment rates in this area.
While in the years 2006 and 2010 the rate of natural increase, as calculated by totalling the birth rate minus death rate of the population, was
positive, in the years 2011 and 2012 it was negative. In the year 2012 – just
like in previous years – more people left the region than moved into the region. The net migration rate was negative and totalled 631 people. The only
district with positive natural increase and migration rates was Olomouc.
The population density per 1 km2 (121.3 people) is close to the average
population density in the Czech Republic (133.2 people). We can, however,
find significant differences within the region, with the lowest population
densities in the Jeseník district (56.3 people per km2) and Šumperk district
(94.1 people per km2), which is mostly due to the mountainous character
of these areas.
The Czech Statistical Office states that in 2011 the region had negative
natural increase rate (less children were born than people died), and furthermore there was a decreasing ratio of children under the age of 14 and
an increasing ratio of people over 65, i.e. the average age of the population was increasing.
The region’s population structure with respect to family status copies nationwide trends. A majority were women (51%) but their share of the total
population has been decreasing over the course of the last 50 years. Almost
half the inhabitants live in municipalities of less than 5 thousand people,
and just under one fifth in Přerov, Prostějov and Šumperk. According to the
last census (2011), Olomouc had a population of more than 100 thousand.
Economic and social environment
Statistically, the region shows disparate figures in regard to population
density and basic socio-economic indicators. This is caused by the region’s
distinct historical development (part of the region lies in the Sudetenland,
which still struggles with the legacy of the post-war expulsion of resident
Germans that caused the erosion of traditional bonds) but also transport
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accessibility and geographical location, which predetermines the distinctive
environment and living conditions of the local population. While the Jeseníky mountain range dominates the northern part of the region, the south
lies in the traditionally agricultural flatland of the Hana region.
Whereas statistical data show the economy of Haná (Hanakia) region
districts as more stable, the northern part of the Šumperk district and the
entire Jeseník district are economically weak and in this respect problematic provinces not only within the Olomouc Region but also in the entire
country. 10 On the other hand, this traditional socioeconomic North-South
division has been losing some of its relevance because problematic areas
can be found across all of the Olomouc Region’s districts. This is most
obvious in some parts of the Přerov district, which also displays high
unemployment rates.
The southern and central parts of the region are among the most fertile areas of the Czech Republic. The average yields of cultivated crops –
spring barley, winter wheat, oilseed rape, and sugar beet – are the highest
in the entire country.
There are many traditional commercial crops in the Olomouc Region.
Many food processing companies are supplied by the local agricultural
production; other industrial sectors include textile and clothing, machinery
and equipment, and optics and optical equipment. However, the manufacturing plants and companies are not evenly distributed across the region
and possibilities to commute to work vary. Some important manufacturing
plants perished during the transition period and during the recent crisis.
The most striking recent example was the traditional clothing manufacturer and retailer OP Prostějov.
Related to this is the region’s long-term negative economic indicator of
unemployment, which is among the highest in the Czech Republic. Comparing the data from the first half of 2013 with other regions revealed that
it had the fourth worst unemployment rate and the top position in the
number of job seekers per single vacancy (CZSO 2013).
10
According to the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO), the Olomouc Region contributed to
the Czech Gross national product by only 4.7% in 2011, per capita GDP reached only
76.5% of the national average. An average salary of employees working in companies
with a place of business in the region was 21 810 CZK.
127
The Olomouc Region’s unfavourable ranking in the Czech Republic has
worsened sharply in recent years due to the aforementioned crisis. As late
as 2008 the unemployment rate in the Olomouc region was average among
the other Czech regions but it rapidly escalated in 2009 when, for the first
time since the present regional structure had been implemented, steadily
increased throughout the entire year. It reached a record high in 2010. In
2013 the over-the-year change in unemployment rates was also increasing.
At a district level, Jeseník traditionally has had the one of the highest
levels of unemployment (11.7% by the end of 2012). The Přerov and Šumperk
districts also place in the bottom fifth of Czech districts with the highest
unemployment rate. The best position belongs to Prostějov, which places
in the middle of the national rankings (7.8%).
The Characteristics of District Cities
Olomouc
The district seat and statutory city of Olomouc has a population of almost
100 thousand. It contains the second largest urban heritage site after the
capital Prague.11 It was granted royal city privilege in 1246 during the reign
of Wenceslas I. It became the centre of Moravia in the Middle Ages, and
was the second largest city of the Czech Kingdom after Prague and the
largest city in Moravia until the Thirty Years’ War. It is mostly well-known
for its close connection with religious, university and military history.
The religious character of the city is obvious from the outstanding number of sacred buildings. The Olomouc diocese was officially founded in the
11th century and was raised to an archdiocese in 1777. Currently it is a seat
for several denominations (other than Catholic, for instance Evangelical
and Orthodox) and individual monastic orders. The visit of Pope John Paul
II, who canonised Saint Jan Sarkander and Saint Zdislava of Lemberk here
in 1995, confirms the importance of Olomouc as a religious place.
Thanks to its over twenty thousand students, Olomouc is one of the
most important Central European university cities. The local university is
11
A survey of the social, economic and environmental indicators ranked the city of
Olomouc 16th among the 50 largest Czech cities.
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the second oldest university in the Czech Republic after Charles University
in Prague. It currently offers courses at eight faculties and is an important
employer. Since 2005, Olomouc also has had a university college, Moravian University College.
The third historical aspect of the city is its military character. Olomouc
was an important defensive fortress for over two hundred years (till 1866).
The city also preserved its military character during the communist era as
between 1968 and the end of the communist regime in 1989 it hosted an
important garrison of the Soviet Army. The military tradition has remained
intact during the last decade; the Joint Forces Headquarters of the Armed
Forces of the Czech Republic were stationed here in the last decade. 12
Olomouc has significant tourism potential. 13 It offers many historical sites and monuments, including the Holy Trinity Column, which was added
to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The most important historical site
is the Přemyslid Palace, which is dominated by the three-naved St. Wenceslas Cathedral on Wenceslas square. Its main tower is 100.65 metres tall
and is the highest in Moravia. Next to the Cathedral is the Chapel of St.
Anne and the Chapter Deanery, the site of the murder of the last Přemyslid, Wenceslaus III. The building was turned into an Archdiocese Museum
in 1998 and a large exhibition was opened there in 2006.
Olomouc district includes 96 municipalities, of which six are cities
(Olomouc, Šternberk, Uničov, Litovel, Velká Bystřice, and Moravský Beroun) and three are market towns (Dub nad Moravou, Náměšť na Hané,
and Velký Újezd). In the district’s north-east, the Libavá military training
area is located near the Oderské Vrchy mountains.
Přerov
The statutory city of Přerov lies on the river Bečva, and with a population
of almost forty-five thousand is the second largest city of the Olomouc Region. It was granted the privilege of royal city status by King Ottokar II of
12
The decision to close the Headquarters was made in mid-2013. The army explained
the move citing the savings made through downsizing.
13
The highly prestigious travel guide book publisher Lonely Planet ranked Olomouc as
the only Czech city among the ten hidden gems of Europe. The district seat ranked
seventh on the list.
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Bohemia in 1256. Part of its historical centre is a heritage site, with Přerov
Palace and Komenský Museum standing on the site of the original castle.
Přerov is first of all an important railway hub in the Czech Republic.
The development of the city owed a lot to the arrival of the first train in
1841 and the local train station became an important railway centre. The
introduction of railway transportation led to a rapid economic growth in
the second half of the 19th century, based for many years on the production of agricultural machinery. Several important companies have their
headquarters in Přerov (for example Precheza, PSP Engineering, Meopta,
Kazeto, etc).
The district of Přerov has 104 municipalities, the most of all other Olomouc Region districts. Six of them are cities (Hranice, Kojetín, Lipník nad
Bečvou, Potštát, Přerov and Tovačov) and three are market towns (Brodek
u Přerova, Dřevohostice and Hustopeče nad Bečvou). In close proximity
to Hranice, which is the second most populous city in the region, is the
Teplice nad Bečvou municipality, well-known for its important spa specializing in cardio-rehabilitation. Another tourist attraction is Lipník nad
Bečvou, whose city centre is a heritage site.
Prostějov
Prostějov, with its population of almost 45 thousand, is the third biggest
city in the Olomouc Region. It is often referred to as the “Jerusalem of
Haná” due to its two central Jewish ghettos.14 Prostějov is most commonly
associated with fashion. It obtained the status of city in 1390 when it was
granted the privilege of holding annual markets. Already at this time the
market was dominated by textile artisans, especially weavers and drapers.
By the end of the 19th century, Prostějov was producing one third of the
total clothing industry output in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. At the
turn of the century, footwear and leather manufacturing industries started
to grow rapidly. In 1945, there were almost two hundred clothing companies
and businesses. In the 1980s, fragmented clothing production was concen-
14
In the second half of the 15th century, Jews expelled from Olomouc came to Prostějov
and in the next two hundred years were joined by refugees from Poland and Vienna.
The Prostějov ghetto was an important centre of Jewish scholarship and gave the world
many personalities of science and art (Pěkný 1993: 292–293).
130
trated in the national corporation Oděvní Průmysl (OP), which gradually
became the biggest clothing company in Czechoslovakia. OP was responsible for the vast majority of clothing production in Bohemia and Moravia.
Privatisation, restitutions and the introduction of a market economy in
industry brought significant changes after 1990. Oděvní Podnik Prostějov
struggled with severe financial problems. This important traditional employer went bankrupt and was subsequently liquidated. There are currently
some smaller clothing firms and one larger Japanese textile factory active
in the city. Other sectors represented include mechanical engineering and
civil engineering. New investors stand to benefit from the generous space
available for conducting business. Moreover, the city offers many opportunities for tourism. Apart from the many historical monuments in the city
itself, tourists like to visit the nearby Plumlov castle and the Plumlov dam.
The district of Prostějov includes 97 municipalities, of which 5 are cities (Konice, Kostelec na Hané, Němčice nad Hanou, Plumlov, Prostějov)
and 6 are market towns (Brodek u Prostějova, Drahany, Kralice na Hané,
Nezamyslice, Protivanov, Tištín).
Šumperk
The city of Šumperk is situated in the valley of the river Desná and bordered in the north by the Jeseníky mountain range. Šumperk is the administrative, political and economic centre of north-western Moravia and is
known as the “Jeseníky gate” because it lies on a crossroad of paths that
lead to the mountains’ most important base areas – Skřítek, Červenohorské sedlo, Ramzová, and also to the base of Kralický Sněžník mountain.
The first known reference to the city is from the 13th century. Originally,
the economic activity of the Šumperk region depended on metal mining.
The Thirty Years’ War greatly affected the history of the city and its past
is also connected with the Inquisition-led witch trials. The city started to
flourish in the 18th century with the expansion of textile and flax processing plants.
The turning point in the modern history of the city was the expulsion
of the German population after World War II and the arrival of the Czech
inhabitants. Instead of the traditional textile industry, the Šumperk region
began to focus solely on metallurgic, mechanical engineering, and civil engineering industries. The occupation by the Soviet army after 1968 had a
131
negative impact on the city as it initiated the dilapidation of its historical
centre and a boom in socialist development projects. The 1989 Revolution
brought a change for the better, with the historical centre being declared a
heritage site and the visual aspect of the city of Šumperk starting to improve.
The district of Šumperk comprises 78 municipalities, of which eight are
cities (Hanušovice, Loštice, Mohelnice, Staré Město, Štíty, Šumperk, Úsov,
and Zábřeh). We can find many significant tourist attractions from the
Olomouc Region in these cities or in their proximity, for example the palace in Velké Losiny or the castle in Úsov. Loštice has earned itself a place
in food industry books for its production of the well-known “tvarůžky”
cheese (Olomouc cheese).
Jeseník
Jeseník is the most northern district city in the Olomouc Region. It lies on
the confluence of the Bělá and Staříče rivers at the border of the Rychlebské hory and Hrubý Jeseník Mountains, 100 km from the district seat of
Olomouc. It is the region’s important entry point into Poland. It is most
well-known for its spa. The Priessnitz Spa Resort has Europe-wide significance. It was founded by the local healer Vincenz Priessnitz in the first
half of the 19th century. V. Priessnitz combined elements of hydrotherapy
with exercise. Today the Spa is visited by around twelve thousand guests
every year.
The Jeseník district offers facilities for mountain tourism with a dense
network of nature trails as well as skiing facilities in winter. The nearby
hydroelectric power station Dlouhé Stráně is another local attraction. The
biggest problem for its tourism is the low level of transport accessibility.
The plan to build a waterpark in order to increase tourist appeal of the
city has been (together with unemployment) the key controversial issue
of local politics. The core of the dispute lies in the high financial cost of
the project. 15 The district of Jeseník comprises 24 municipalities. Javorník,
Jeseník, Vidnava, Zlaté hory and Žulová have city status.
15
A similar discussion took place in the case of the Olomouc waterpark. The future of
the Jeseník waterpark was undetermined at the time this chapter was written.
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11 POLITICAL REPRESENTATION OF
THE OLOMOUC REGION
Michal Kuděla
This chapter focuses on the political representation of the citizens of the
Olomouc Region on the level of the Parliament, i.e. the Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate, on the level of the Region, as well as the municipal
one. In particular, it covers the issues of municipal elections in the district
cities of the Olomouc Region, namely Olomouc, Přerov, Šumperk, Prostějov, and Jeseník.
The Chamber of Deputies
As regards the elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of
the Czech Republic,16 the actual territory of the Olomouc Region, along
with the Moravian-Silesian Region, made up part of the electoral district of
Northern Moravia during the whole of the 1990s. In that period the Czech
Republic was divided into eight multi-mandate electoral districts, in which
200 mandates were apportioned. In the lower chamber of the Parliament
this electoral district was represented by 36–37 deputies. The current electoral system arose from a discussion on electoral reform that culminated
under the government of the so-called ‘Opposition Agreement’ parties
(1998–2002) and was also marked by the intervention of the Constitutional
Court. The most pronounced change concerned the election formula17 and
16
Between 1990 and 1992 elections were organised according to an identical electoral
system both for the Czech National Council and the republic’s Parliament within the
federation. Along with the formation of the independent Czech Republic, the Czech
National Council was renamed the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the
Czech Republic.
17
The Hagenbach-Bishoff quota was replaced by the d’Hondt divisor.
11 Political representation of the Olomouc Region
133
the sizes of the electoral districts (Novák, Lebeda 2004). Starting with the
elections in 2002, the Olomouc Region became an independent electoral
district. The newly formed electoral districts, 14 instead of the former 8,
mirror the territories of the newly established regions. At present, the Olomouc Region is represented by 12 deputies.18 Table 17 below provides an
overview of the election results for the Chamber of Deputies in the Region
of Northern Moravia (NM) and later in the Olomouc Region (OR) between
1994 and 2013. The Olomouc Region appears as rather left-of-centre. In
all the elections that were studied left-wing political parties, especially the
Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), gained numbers of votes that exceeded the
national mean.19 The election results in the Olomouc Region mirror the
trends that may be observed within the whole of the Czech Republic. In
particular, there is a long-term decline in support for the two big traditional
political parties, i.e. the left-wing ČSSD and right-wing Civic Democratic
Party (ODS), which have lost the support of one half of their voters during the last 7 years. There is above-average voter support for new political
parties and movements in the Olomouc Region. For example, the party
Public Affairs (VV) gained above-average support in 2010, and the ANO
2011 and Down (Úsvit) movements likewise in 2013. The voter turnout there
does not differ significantly from the national average. There has been a
slight decrease in the voter turnout in the last two elections.
Table 17. Overview of the voter turnout and election results for the
Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic
in 1994–2013 (in %)
1996
1998
2002
2006
2010
2013
CZ
NM
CZ
NM
CZ
OR
CZ
OR
CZ
OR
CZ
OR
ČSSD
26.4
34.2
32.3
39.0
30.2
31.3
32.3
35.4
22.1
24.5
20.5
22.2
ODS
29.6
27.5
27.7
22.6
24.5
20.3
35.4
30.3
20.2
17.0
7.7
6.0
ODA
6.4
3.9
18
The number of mandates primarily depends on the voter turnout for the elections in
question. Therefore, it is not fixed.
19
The single exception is the gains of the Communist Party (KSČM) in 1998.
134
CZ
NM
CZ
NM
KDU-ČSL
8.1
7.8
9.0
9.1
KSČM
10.3
9.8
11.0
11.3
18.5
21.0
12.8
14.7
11.3
13.2
14.9
17.0
SPR-RSČ
8.0
7.9
Freedom
Union
(US)
8.6
6.3
KDU-ČSL,
US
14.3
13.9
Green
Party
6.3
5.5
TOP 09
16.7
13.5
12.0
7.7
VV
10.9
11.6
ANO
2011
18.7
19.6
Úsvit
6.9
8.9
Voter
turnout
76.4
76.8
74.0
72.7
58.0
58.9
64.5
64.5
62.6
61.1
59.5
58.9
1996
1998
2002
CZ
2006
OR
CZ
2010
OR
CZ
2013
OR
CZ
OR
Source: Author according to the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO, www.volby.cz).
Senate
The upper chamber of the Czech Parliament was first constituted in 1996.
For the purposes of Senate elections, the territory of the Olomouc Region is divided into five electoral districts, in which senators, by means of a
two-round majority system with a run-off election, are elected for a period
of six years. The most successful party as regards the number of senatorial
mandates is ČSSD, whose candidates were elected five times during the
period under observation. An identical number of non-partisan politicians
were also successful. Next, fewer candidates representing the right wing,
i.e. ODS and TOP 09, as well as the centrist Christian and Democratic
Union – Czechoslovak People’s Party (KDU-ČSL), were elected. Voters’
135
inclination towards left-wing parties is also confirmed by the Senate election results. Table 18 below gives a detailed overview.
Table 18. Overview of party affiliation of the senators elected for the
Olomouc Region
District (no.)
Term of office
Olomouc (61)
Non-partisan
(1996–1998)
ČSSD
(1998–2004)
ODS
(2004–2010)
ČSSD
(2010–2016)
Prostějov (62)
ČSSD
(1996–2000)
Non-partisan
(2000–2006)
ČSSD
(2006–2012)
ČSSD
(2012–2018)
Přerov (63)
Non-partisan
(1996–2002)
Non-partisan
(2002–2007)
ČSSD
(2007–2008)
ČSSD
(2008–2014)
Šumperk (65)
ČSSD
(1996–2000)
KDU–ČSL
(2000–2006)
TOP 09
(2006–2012)
Non-partisan
(2012–2018)
Olomouc (66)
ČSSD
(1996–2002)
ODS
(2002–2008)
ČSSD
(2008–2014)
Source: Author according to the CZSO (www.volby.cz).
Regional Governments
As a result of the decentralisation of public administration, 14 self-governing regions were established in 2000,20 thus opening up a completely new
political scene (Šaradín, Šulák 2001). Regional political elites established
themselves gradually, which was reflected within the internal structure of
the individual political parties. In this way, the conditions suggested in the
Constitution of the Czech Republic were met. Regions are public corporations endowed with the power to initiate legislation and have a number
of functions in the domain of self-government (regional development, the
20
The capital, Prague, has a special status in this structure; its board of representatives
(assembly) also fulfils the role of the region’s board of representatives. Unlike the
remaining 13 regions, the elections for this body are held along with the municipal
elections. This status is anchored in a separate Act (Act No. 131/2000 Coll., on the
Capital City of Prague).
136
founding of secondary schools, health facilities, transport services, etc.),
as well as competences delegated by the state administration. There are 55
representatives on the board of representatives of the Olomouc Region.21
The representatives are elected according to a proportional representation
system with a 5% barrier clause. The region’s territory is the sole electoral
district. The representatives’ period of office is four years. Only political
parties and movements or alliances can stand in regional elections, which
means independent candidates are excluded. Although we can come across
local political blocs in some Czech regions which are successful at this
self-government level,22 the largest proportion of votes goes to established
political parties that are active on the parliamentary level. Table 19 below
provides a summary of the regional election results in the Olomouc Region
(OR), including the percentages of votes gained by the individual parties
in the whole Czech Republic (CZ).
Table 19. Self-government election results in the Olomouc Region
in 2000–2012
2000
2004
2008
2012
CZ
OR
CZ
OR
CZ
OR
CZ
OR
ČSSD
14.7
16.3
14.0
15.0
35.9
39.8
23.6
26.7
ODS
23.8
19.0
36.4
30.6
23.6
20.3
12.3
10.9
10.7
13.7
6.7
8.8
KSČM
21.1
21.5
19.7
21.4
15.0
15.8
20.4
22.8
Čtyřkoalice
22.9
24.2
TOP 09*
6.6
6.2
Koalice pro Olomoucký
kraj**
***
11.0
KDU-ČSL
21
The size of the board of representatives is given by the region’s population and ranges
from 45 to 65 members.
22
For example, in the 2012 elections the blocs Starostové pro Liberecký kraj (Mayors
for the Liberec Region) or Změna pro Liberecký kraj (Change for the Liberec Region)
gained 22.2% and 16.9% of the votes respectively in the Liberec Region. In the South
Bohemian Region the Jihočeši bloc (South Bohemians) had similar success in 2012
with 14.6% of the votes.
2000
2004
2008
137
2012
CZ
OR
CZ
OR
CZ
OR
CZ
OR
Voter turnout
33.6
34.2
29.6
28.4
40.3
38.5
36.9
35.7
Notes: * In 2012 TOP 09 together with Starostové pro Olomoucký kraj (Mayors for the
Olomouc Region);
** Coalition was formed by the candidates of KDU-ČSL and SZ;
*** Local bloc standing only in the Olomouc Region.
In Czech literature dealing with political science the regional election results are studied in, inter alia, the context of second-order elections (Šaradín
2008). So far, the regional elections have always been held approximately
halfway through the Parliament’s and government’s terms of office. Thus,
especially back in 2008 and 2012 the regional elections were viewed as a
referendum reflecting people’s level of satisfaction with the government on
the central level, and the opposition parties’ pre-election campaigns were
constructed accordingly. The most prominent evidence of this effect is the
gains of the government parties in 2008 and 2012.23
The voters’ interest in regional elections is much lower. Moreover, there
is a much higher percentage of invalid votes and the political elites tend
to prefer national topics to regional ones that relate to issues of regional
self-government and its competence.
Municipal elections in selected cities of
the Olomouc Region
In the next section we will focus on municipal elections in the cities of
the Olomouc Region specified below, i.e. Olomouc, Přerov, Prostějov,
Šumperk, and Jeseník.
The questions related to the electoral system were detailed in the previous chapter by Pavel Šaradín. Therefore, this section is limited to only one
23
In 2008 the Czech coalition government was made up of ODS, KDU-ČSL, and the
Green Party (SZ). In 2012 the parties were ODS, TOP 09, and the party Public Affairs
(this party did not stand in the Olomouc Region that year because of an internal party
crisis).
138
aspect of municipal elections which markedly concerns one of the cities
under study, namely the statutory city of Olomouc.
The aspect is the construction of electoral districts, i.e. one of the most
important variables of the proportional electoral system. Subject to criteria stipulated by law, the city council is entitled to divide the municipality into two or more electoral districts. In electoral districts that are thus
constructed at least 5, 7, or 9 representatives are elected24 (Act No. 491/2001
Coll.). Not only does the size of the electoral district significantly affect
the proportionality of the outcomes of the electoral system but it may also
exert an influence on the elimination or, conversely, support for the representation of national or ethnic minorities, for instance. The subdivision of
a municipality into electoral districts may thus ensure the representation of
more remote quarters of the municipality or of ethnic minorities. However,
the final effect may be the opposite. The method used for the construction
of electoral districts is one of the most sensitive spots within the whole
system, especially as the representatives may influence these and change
the rules of the game (Lebeda 2008; Ryšavý, Šaradín 2011).
Among the most familiar examples of a municipality’s subdivision into
electoral districts are the municipal elections in the Capital City of Prague,
and the City of Olomouc, as mentioned above. By reducing the size of electoral districts and increasing their number, there is a rise in the value of the
natural threshold, which may prevent small political parties, in particular,
from getting any mandates, and thus may negatively influence the final
proportionality25 (Lebeda 2008; Gallagher 2001; Taagepera, Shugart 1989).
The territory of the City of Olomouc has been subdivided into several
electoral districts since the 1990s. In 1994 there were five of them, in 1998
six, and since 2002 there have been five electoral districts again. Thus, the
24
The size of an electoral district is conditioned by the number of citizens in the municipality in question. At least 5 members may be elected in a municipality with up
to 10,000 citizens, 7 members in a municipality with up to 50,000 citizens, and 9
members in a municipality with over 50,000 citizens.
25
In 2010 the Capital City of Prague, was subdivided into seven electoral districts and,
at the same time, the number of representatives was reduced from 70 to 63. As a
result, the parties VV, SZ, KDU-ČSL and SNK-ED did not get any seats. The parties
filed a complaint about the intentional subdivision of Prague’s electoral districts with
the Supreme Administrative Court, but it was dismissed.
139
number of electoral districts has steadied in the last three municipal elections. The artificial subdivision of the city into electoral districts is better
suited to bigger political parties, which are also dominant in Olomouc,
namely ČSSD and ODS. This is criticised for its expediency, especially by
smaller political parties (KDU-ČSL or SZ), whose representatives also challenged the principle of the city’s subdivision into the individual districts
in the Constitutional Court. However, in 2007 the case was dismissed as
groundless. Big political parties thus gain larger percentages of mandates
in the city councils and, at the same time, impede smaller parties’ access to
mandates.26 For example, the contestants’ arguments focus on the fact that
the nominated candidates often do not even live in the electoral district for
which they stand; next, they point out the principle of responsibility for
the city’s administration as a whole, not only of certain parts. Last but not
least, those who object to such a practice maintain that because Olomouc
is not divided into individual city districts with individual small town halls,
the subdivision into the electoral districts is illogical. Finally, the critique
also concentrates on the construction of the electoral districts. The most
striking example is Electoral District No. 5, which encircles a large part of
the city and includes localities as much as 15 km apart.
Election results in Olomouc
Table 20 gives an overview of the election results of the competing entities
in the elections for the Olomouc City Council since the formation of the
independent Czech Republic. Parliamentary political parties (ČSSD, ODS,
KDU-ČSL, and KSČM) have a significant status in Olomouc. Together,
ČSSD and ODS gain approximately a half of all the votes.
Table 20. Results of municipal elections in Olomouc in 1994–2010 (in %)
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
ČSSD
12.24
23.17
23.19
24.66
28.67
ODA
10.06
KSČM
15.38
12.57
14.87
11.27
10.15
26
Especially because of a higher natural threshold.
140
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
ODS
31.10
26.86
23.18
36.44
24.18
KDU-ČSL, Christian Democratic
Party, and Club of Active
Non-Partisans
9.31
SPR-RSČ
5.01
Green Party, independent
candidates
7.64
8.89
6.85
KDU-ČSL
11.37
10.02
8.35
7.54
Freedom Union-Democratic
Union
7.42
Green Party, Party for Open
Society, NK
5.49
Nezávislí (The Independents)
5.95
Olomouc 21
5.42
TOP 09
14.8
Přerov
Table 21 shows the election results for Přerov for the identical period to
that mentioned above. Interestingly, there were relatively high numbers of
political blocs which gained seats on the council, which was particularly
given by the non-existence of the 5% threshold back in the 1990s. More
frequently than elsewhere, in Přerov we come across a success of blocs of
independent candidates or of local alliances. As a result of the introduction
of the 5% threshold, in 2002 there was a drop in the number of entities in
the council. Since then, there has also been a significant decrease in the
support for the right-wing ODS. The topic of the last municipal elections
in 2010 was exploited by TOP 09, which also entered the Chamber of Deputies in that year. In addition, a local bloc, Společně pro Přerov (Together
for Přerov), was markedly successful.
141
Table 21. Results of municipal elections in Přerov in 1994–2010 (in %)
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
ČSSD
9.33
22.26
19.75
24.76
26.86
ODA
6.83
3.98
KSČM
20.32
18.33
22.22
17.33
15.62
ODS
23,41
18.09
21.95
25.9
15.04
Democratic Union
3.08
1.85
Masaryk Democratic Party
4.81
3.69
SPR-RSČ
4.65
Party of Democratic Left, NK
3.03
SZ (Green Party)
3.38
3.4
Free Democrats
9.15
Club of Active Non-Partisans
2.86
3.01
KDU-ČSL
6.35
6.97
8.54
5.84
5.41
4.44
Tradesmen
Czech National Social Party, NK
5.92
US
3.88
NK
2.03
Nezávislí
10.03
Přerov Coalition
8.81
6.06
SZ (Green Party), Independent
Choice
9.61
TOP 09
10.95
Together for Přerov
14.2
Prostějov
Table 22 (below) summarises the municipal election results in Prostějov.
Similarly to the case of Přerov, we encountered the representation of
smaller blocs gaining mandates back in the 1990s. Except for the voters
of KDU-ČSL, in the last two elections voters favoured almost solely the
142
political parties that are active in the Chamber of Deputies.27 In addition,
the right-wing, conservative party TOP 09, which entered the Parliament
in that year, was also successful.
Table 22. Results of municipal elections in Prostějov in 1994–2010 (in %)
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
ČSSD
12.53
24.5
24.86
30.33
34.43
ODA
5.54
KSČM
13.5
14.59
16.46
13.55
11.8
ODS
25.83
21.24
26.08
35.68
21.02
Democratic Union
3.1
SPR-RSČ
6.87
Christian Democratic
Party, Club of Active
Non-Partisans
4.07
5
KDU-ČSL
7.1
9.39
8.49
8.83
5.61
Czech-Moravian Centre
Party
4.02
Free Democrats, NK
11.64
ODA
6.2
Party for Open Society, NK
9.68
US
8.93
Coalition
1.6
Prostějov 21
5.69
US-DeU
10.53
SZ
7.87
TOP 09
14.7
Party of Democratic Left,
Left Bloc
27
In 2010 KDU-ČSL did not get into the Chamber of Deputies as they had not exceeded
the 5% threshold.
143
Šumperk
Taking a closer look at the last municipal election results in Šumperk, as
shown in Table 23, we find that a strong part of the communal party system is made up by local independent alliances of candidates, which have
achieved considerable success in the course of the period under observation. Although there was increased pressure for making alliances of independent candidates because of the 5% threshold, it did not have a marked
impact on the representation of entities that are otherwise unknown on the
national level. In the last two municipal elections there was a prominent
rise in the support for the local movement Nezávislá volba (Independent
Choice), which is headed by the current mayor of the town.
Table 23. Results of municipal elections in Šumperk in 1994–2010 (in %)
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
ČSSD
4.0
15.5
13.6
18.4
20.3
ODA
4.9
KSČM
11.0
14.1
19.0
15.3
13.1
ODS
18,06
19.3
18.6
24.4
11.6
SPR-RSČ
4.2
Left Bloc
5.3
KDU-ČSL
8.5
9.3
10.4
9.7
9.2
2.4
Nezávislí
4.3
2.5
16.8
TOP 09
7.8
SNK
12.4
7.6
SNK II
14.9
2.8
Moravian National Party
2.8
Pensioners for Social
Security
5.1
Party
2.3
US
144
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2.9
Tradesmen
2.8
SNK III
5.3
SNK IV
11.9
For Prosperity of Šumperk
Region
8.2
7.4
Independent Choice
15.7
24.8
Sovereignty
7.1
National Social Liberal
Party
Jeseník
The interesting trends to be seen in Table 24, showing the election results
in Jeseník, point at a gradual weakening of support, especially for parties
functioning on the national level, particularly for ODS and KSČM and
partially for KDU-ČSL. In addition, there is relatively stable support for
the local movements, which regularly gain more than a quarter of votes.
The bloc formed of Mladí pro Jeseník (Young for Jeseník) and ČSSD,
which remains the strongest political party there, have shared the council
responsibilities since 2010.
Table 24. Results of municipal elections in Jeseník in 1994–2010 (in %)
1994
ČSSD
1998
2002
2006
2010
18.8
23.9
21.9
21.6
ODA
22.9
KSČM
18.0
11.6
12.8
9.9
7.3
ODS
24.4
18.3
18.5
23.5
14.3
SPR-RSČ
4.6
Left Bloc
8.7
KDU-ČSL
13.7
6.3
5.4
7.3
5.5
1998
2002
US
1994
6.4
9.6
Independent
9.7
6.2
145
2006
2010
17.9
10.4
TOP 09
6.4
SNK
7.1
SNK-ED
7.4
Moravian Democratic
Party
3.4
Democratic Union
3.8
Jeseník for Everyone
11.6
SZ
10.9
Young for Jeseník
11.8
SSO
7.8
Party
Choice for the City
7.7
13.0
Concentrating on the number of political blocs/parties competing in
the municipal elections, we register a decrease in their number, especially after the changes in the electoral system before the 2002 elections.
The decrease in the quantity of entities standing up for the votes was not
even. The most pronounced differences can be seen in Přerov, Prostějov,
and Šumperk, where the numbers of blocs standing have dropped by half
during the period under observation. This trend is also reflected in the
number of competing blocs gaining seats in the councils. The situation in
Olomouc is the reverse, as the ratio of successful and unsuccessful entities
standing in elections has been increasing since 2002 and as much as a half
of the standing political blocs/parties get represented.
146
Table 25. Number of competing entities in municipal elections in 1994–2010
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
Olomouc
7
6
7
5
5
Přerov
12
13
6
6
6
Prostějov
11
8
6
5
5
Šumperk
14
11
6
6
7
Jeseník
7
10
7
7
8
Mean
10.2
9.6
6.4
5.8
6.2
In the Czech Republic the mean voter turnout in municipal elections
has been rising in the last three elections. Although the values have not
reached those of the early 1990s, the increase in the voters’ interest in participation in municipal elections is perceived as positive. Table 26, below,
not only summarises the voter turnout in the five cities that were observed
in the Olomouc Region, but also contrasts the data on voter turnout with
the results for this region as a whole and for the whole of the Czech Republic. Taking a look at the electoral participation in the whole of the
Czech Republic, in the Olomouc Region there is a higher-than-average
voter turnout in municipal elections. Although this trend prevails, the
voter turnout values in the Olomouc Region and the Czech Republic, as a
whole, approach each other. The increase in the voter turnout is inversely
proportional to the size of the given municipality. Undoubtedly, this general
phenomenon also holds true for the district cities of the Olomouc Region
discussed here, where we observe significantly lower voter turnouts in all
the elections when compared with the Region or the Czech Republic overall.
147
Table 26. Comparison of the voter turnout in municipal elections
in 1994–2010
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
Olomouc
53.1
34.0
30,05
33,69
36,97
Přerov
53.7
34.1
32.1
35.1
40.0
Prostějov
54.7
36.1
33.9
36.1
37.0
Šumperk
59.1
37.7
33.6
36.9
37.0
Jeseník
56.9
42.1
40.9
41.8
46.9
Mean
55.5
36.8
35.1
37.5
40.2
Olomouc Region
*
49.1
47.0
46.5
48.8
Czech Republic
60.7
45.0
45.5
46.4
48.5
Note: * In 1994 the Olomouc Region did not exist. Its territory was part of the larger Region
of Northern Moravia.
148
12 CIVIC PARTICIPATION AND LOCAL DEMOCRACY
IN CITIES OF THE OLOMOUC REGION
Radomir Sztwiertnia
The fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia initiated a reform of
local self-government, which became one of the key processes of the transformation towards democracy (Illner 1991). The start of decentralisation
was closely connected with the adoption of the Act on Municipalities back
in 1990, the very beginning of this transformation. The second important
milestone was the reform of local self-government at the end of the 1990s.28
The reform strengthened the powers and competence of bigger municipalities and they gradually took over the responsibilities of the former district
authorities. The third stage concerns the harmonisation of Czech legislation
and the legislation of the European Union and the adoption of the binding
and non-binding recommendations of the advisory bodies of the Council
of Europe. Among the characteristic features of all three stages of the municipal self-government reforms, we can mention, inter alia, improvements
to the decision-making structure, lowering the costs of public administration, the introduction of new methods, techniques and working processes
in the management of local authorities, and increasing staff qualifications.
From the point of view of the functioning of the self-government, the key
trends are the efforts to strengthen its democratic nature, being related to
transparent decision making, the reinforced responsibility of the elected
representatives, and, especially, the involvement of as high a number as
28
The reform introduced new administrative division of the country and established
regional administration, which overtook powers of previous district offices. Accordingly, some duties within state administration were handled to two categories of
municipalities (Municipalities with an authorised municipal office and Municipalities
with extended powers). See also Chapter 9 in this book.
12 Civic participation and local democracy in cities of the Olomouc Region
149
possible of informed citizens in the political processes, decision-making
ones in particular.
This chapter presents the forms of democracy at the local level, namely
in selected cities of the Olomouc Region, discusses the existing options for
the political participation of citizens and mediates the opinions of representatives of the cities under examination on the citizens’ involvement in
the administration of public affairs.
Forms of democracy in Czech cities
A municipality is a fundamental territorial community of citizens whom the
Constitution of the Czech Republic entitles to self-government. However,
the municipality is not administered by all the municipality’s citizens, but
by directly elected representatives. Rather than any imperatives, they are
bound by an oath to carry out their functions conscientiously and in the
interest of the municipality and its citizens. In this way, citizens choose
from a certain number of candidates, usually those whom they trust and
whom they assume will assert their interests or the municipality’s interests
in the best possible way. Next, during their term of office the elected representatives make independent decisions on matters which concern the local
community. Their actions are subject to checks by the citizens, especially
by means of public hearings and successive elections.
The local level of self-government is considered an environment where representative democracy can function to its best advantage (Sisk et al.
2011). It may be assumed that the smaller the municipality, the greater the
feeling of the proximity of the representative body; the closer the relations
among the representatives and fellow citizens, the easier the mutual communication. There are also a higher awareness of citizens’ preferences and
interests and better prospects for the implementation of particular issues
and the gratification of topical needs (Illner 2006). Such circumstances
may thus strengthen the feelings of solidarity, cooperation, and satisfaction
arising from the involvement in the administration of public affairs. The
local government in small municipalities can enjoy the citizens’ confidence because of the proximity, mutual knowledge, and the extent of public
control over the elected representatives. According to the results of opinion
polls (see Figure 3), municipal assemblies, along with the President of the
150
Czech Republic, belong among the most highly trusted institutions. In the
Czech Republic approximately 60 % of citizens have long-term confidence
in their elected representatives in the local government.
Figure 3. Confidence in selected political institutions in the Czech Republic
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Municipal assemblies
V.2013
V.2012
V.2011
V.2010
V.2009
V.2008
V.2007
V.2006
V.2005
V.2004
II.2002
V.2003
V.2001
V.2000
V.1999
V.1998
V.1997
V.1995
VII.1996
V.1994
V.1993
0
The Chamber of Deputies
Source: CVVM (Centre for Public Opinion Research Centre, data from regular CVVM surveys
2002–2013), www.cvvm.cz.
Note: Percentage of respondents that declare confidence (strong or rather trust) in given
institution.
On the other hand, efforts to reform the above-mentioned representative
model of democracy are appearing in the Czech Republic. The rationales
concerning the quality of democracy in municipalities arising from the proximity and privity among the citizens and representatives need not apply
in larger settlements, especially cities. In general, in larger cities there is
a different type of political competition (Ryšavý and Šaradín 2011), where
political parties get involved in the political processes more, the election
turnout is lower, there is a different status of the ruling coalition and political opposition, etc. The divide between the representatives and citizens,
and insufficient or incomprehensible justification of representatives’ decisions may lead to the legitimacy of the elected authorities being lower and
to distrust and a lack of interest on the part of the citizens. A solution to
certain negative phenomena of municipal politics may be seen in modi-
151
fying the existing election system, which is now very complicated, and its
impacts on seat allocation are different from how it is actually perceived
by voters. The whole election process may be perceived as non-transparent
and misleading (Lebeda 2009; see also chapter 9 in this book).
The suggested changes to the election system could lead to a weakening
of the role of political parties, movements, or their coalitions in favour of
individuals, who are often independent and generally respected personalities. A frequently discussed proposal nowadays is the introduction of
direct elections of mayors, following the Polish or Slovak models (Jüptner
2009). Nevertheless, such proposals do not essentially alter the character
of representative democracy at the local level. Even if changes were introduced to the election system, elected representatives would still execute
their delegated powers – they would make decisions within the spheres of
their authority for which they would be personally responsible. It is also
unlikely their accountability to become higher. The possible involvement
of citizens in the local decision-making processes would, in this case too,
depend on the representatives’ readiness. Yet, there are reasonable grounds
for considering other modifications of local democracy which would boost
the citizens’ influence on the processes of preparation, decision making,
and the implementation of policies by introducing deliberative mechanisms (Fung, Wright 2001). Despite the concepts and especially techniques
of deliberative democracy being widely elaborated, in the Czech Republic
they have not become a solid element in the functioning of local self-government and remain rather in the stage of rare and non-systematic attempts
in selected municipalities.
Citizen participation in the context of Czech local politics
Citizen participation may be defined as processes within which citizens
gain an immediate influence on those decisions of public authorities (e.g.
municipal assemblies) that concern the citizens themselves and their interests directly or indirectly. Participation is a process which is interactive
(the relationship between citizens and elected representatives) and targeted
(solutions of specific issues). We may distinguish citizens’ involvement in
several stages of decision making or policy making – preparation, adoption, and implementation. Most frequently, citizens get involved at the stage
152
of the preparation of the decisions (or policies), for example, in the form
of consultations, surveys, opinion polls, etc. However, the decision that is
to be made remains in the hands of the responsible elected bodies, i.e. the
parliament or regional or municipal assemblies.
J. E. Klausen, D. Sweeting and J. Howard (2006: 192–194) introduce four
forms of citizen participation in decision making based on two criteria.
First, they distinguish between aggregative and deliberative participation,
which are both in line with the principles of political equality. While aggregative participation is grounded in the traditional confrontation of opinions
that have already been formed, which leads to those solutions or decisions
which the majority of the actors involved favour, deliberative procedures
suppose a mutual search for a decision which all the participants can agree
on. The second criterion is to do with the circle of the actors involved in
various stages of local political processes – the preparation, acceptance, and
implementation of policies. Selective participation is distinguished by the
absence of tools permitting equality in political representation. Participation
is granted only to those actors who supervise the resources vital for problem solving. These are predominantly members of municipal assemblies
and, under certain circumstances, also members of municipal councils or
committees approved by them. On the contrary, full participation reckons
with procedures which allow the involvement of all the citizens of a city.
The most frequent form of activity in the cities under examination (see
Table 27), which ensues from the efforts to involve the public in dealing
with specific issues, is opinion polls (questionnaires). Among the major
disadvantages of questionnaires lies the absence of any binding effect of
the results. Despite the fact that all citizens may participate in surveys, the
number of respondents remains low. Therefore, the reliability of the information acquired is not high.
In each of the five cities, the citizens had also the opportunity to participate in urban planning by means of comments and objections. However,
we perceive such participation as aggregative as the majority of the comments and objections usually come after an actual proposal for the land
use plan has been made.
153
Table 27. Forms of citizen involvement in the cities of Olomouc Region
aggregative
deliberative
selective
local referendum (Olomouc,
Prostějov)
urban neighbourhoods’ budgeting
(Olomouc)
full
opinion polls (all cities),
urban planning (all cities)
Healthy Cities Forum (Prostějov),
strategic development planning
(Šumperk)
Source: Author’s own research based on Klausen, Sweetin, Howard 2006: 196.
To other forms of participation belong local referenda. In Olomouc
and Prostějov such referenda were organised in the past in order for some
parts of the city to gain independence. In line with the legislation, only
inhabitants of the given parts of the cities that sought independence could
participate in referenda. Thus, we perceive such participation as selective.
In Prostějov, Jeseník, and Přerov a referendum was considered in connection with planning buildings with significant financial or environmental
impacts (a waste incineration plant or a waterpark). However, none has
been called so far.
The cases of deliberative forms of civic participation at the stage of taking decisions are rather rare in the Czech Republic. This holds true for
all the cities under examination, where the only selectively deliberative
decision making can be seen in the decisions of the committees of some
quarters of Olomouc to allocate minor percentages of the budget to the
development priorities of the locality in question. A narrow circle of people, who are members of given committees, decides about the allocation
of the funds that have been entrusted to them. Regardless of the limited
amount of money, these committees have a close relationship to citizens and
a much better knowledge of local needs than the assembly in a city. This
procedure may become a platform for implementation of more advanced
forms of participatory budgeting.
The most advanced method of citizens’ involvement in formation of local interest is the activities within the Healthy Cities Forum in Prostějov,
where problems and priorities concerning the administration and development of the city ought to be identified in public discussions. However,
the Forum has not become a broader platform of participation yet due
154
to the lower level of involvement of the inhabitants. Another example of
more advanced participatory tools is the preparation of the strategic plan
for the development of Šumperk, where, apart from forwarding suggestions, citizens could become members of thematic working groups preparing the final document.
Apart from the referenda mentioned above, which directly concern the
decision-making stages, the other options for citizen participation that
have been discussed focus on the sphere of the preparation of municipal
policies. The final decisions are subsequently made by the elected members of the assembly. In the cities under examination, we have not come
across any involvement of the citizens in the stage of the implementation
of policies or decisions.
The sections above discuss the options of citizen participation in the
policies of selected cities. Looking at the public attitudes, we may say that
there is a considerable demand for wider and effective participation in the
administration of local affairs on the citizens’ side. In the long term, over
80 % of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic hold the opinion that citizens
themselves should be able to decide about important local matters rather
than elected politicians (CVVM 2013a). Nevertheless, 60 % of the inhabitants assume that they do not have a chance to influence the solutions to
the problems in their municipalities. The research also implies that in cities
residents are more sceptical than those in smaller municipalities. This could
be seen as a corroborative argument in favour of changing the character
of governing in local politics. However, we must draw attention to the fact
that the declared requirements for more influence on decision making are
not supported by exploiting the existing options in the political life.
In the Czech Republic, as in other post-communist countries, we observe a low level of political participation (Bernhagen, Marsh 2007, Vráblíková 2009). According to CVVM, nine out of ten citizens of the Czech
Republic never take part in the work of a political party, and 70 % of them
never meet politicians or participate in political gatherings. Over a half
of the citizens never get involved in solving public problems. In the long
term, the most common form of political involvement is following the information on politics in the media, which a third of the citizens do, and
discussing politics with friends (CVVM 2012).
155
Czech citizens appear to be rather politically passive as the research
indicates. However, it is likely the research findings tend to mirror the
national level of politics, which is connected with, inter alia, parliamentary elections, parliamentary sessions, the functioning of the government,
disputes in the national coalition, and the relations between the government and the opposition. Thus, observed low level of participation may
be affected by general distrust of the actors at the national level. However,
life in a municipality need not be perceived by inhabitants as a political
matter (Ryšavý, Šaradín 2010). For example, in the local politics of small
municipalities there are often representatives without any political affiliations (the percentage of assembly members in Czech municipalities without any political affiliation is 86 %). If we consider involvement in civic
society (membership in non-profit organisations), which is primarily high
in local conditions, the image of participation changes. In 2003 more than
71 % of the respondents stated that they participated actively in civic life
(Rakušanová 2003). However, other surveys imply that over 80 % of the
inhabitants of the country are not members of any non-profit organisations (Kostelecký, Stachová, Čermák 2002).29 As there are no exact data of
how many citizens living in the cities under examination are members of
non-profit organisations, we may examine the number of civic associations
related to the total number of inhabitants. In the Olomouc Region there
are 7.1 associations per 1,000 citizens. In Jeseník we observe the highest
number of associations relative to the size of the population (13.1). On the
contrary, the lowest number of them is in Přerov (see Table 28).
Table 28. Number of non-profit organisations per 1,000 citizens in cities of
the Olomouc Region
Jeseník
Olomouc
Prostějov
Přerov
Šumperk
Number of citizens
(2011)
11,465
101,003
44,857
44,361
26,737
Number of NGOs
(clubs, associations)
per 1,000 citizens
13.1
10.5
8.7
7.8
10.6
29
The explanation for this may lie in non-institutionalised participation. Active participation in public life need not be related to membership of a particular organisation.
156
Average turnout
in local elections
(1994–2010)
Jeseník
Olomouc
Prostějov
Přerov
Šumperk
45.7
37.6
39.6
39.0
40.8
Source: Czech Statistical Office, Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic.
As we mentioned above, citizen participation need not necessarily be
connected with political activities, but it is likely to have a positive impact
on political attitudes and behaviour (Putnam 2000). It may also affect the
average voter turnout in elections, as Table 28 might suggest. Nevertheless,
in this case the correlation is indirect and the voter turnout in Czech municipal elections depends on other factors, particularly the competitiveness
of the elections and the size of the municipality itself (Ryšavý, Šaradín 2011).
Local representatives’ attitudes towards citizens’
participation in decision making
As mentioned above, there is increased interest on the part of citizens in
direct involvement in local politics. But what are elected representatives’
attitudes to citizen participation in the cities under examination? The question may be answered, at least partially, by the results of a survey carried
out in the five cities concerned.
The survey investigated, inter alia, the representatives’ view of possible
forms of civic participation at the local level. First of all, we focused on the
possible involvement of citizens in decision making outside regular elections. Three-quarters of the representatives are convinced that the active
and direct participation of local inhabitants in important decision making
is vital for the functioning of local democracy. Possible consultations with
regard to dealing with local affairs together with the public are supported by an even higher number of the representatives. This was considered
important for good functioning of local politics by as many as 92 % of the
representatives. Nevertheless, 72 % of the representatives believe that political representatives should make such decisions as they consider proper,
independently of the immediate opinions of the local citizens. This finding
corresponds with those of other research studies conducted among city
157
representatives in the Czech Republic. The research of Ryšavý and Šaradín (2010) implies that in the case of a vote which may result in conflict
between the representative’s own opinion, the party’s opinion, and voters’
attitudes, only one-fifth of the representatives would adhere to the voters’
opinion. Therefore, on one hand the representatives realise the significance
of their roles as representatives of the municipality overall, but on the other,
they predominantly live up to their own principles. Moreover, a third of
the representatives believe that citizens should not have the opportunity
to influence the local administration outside regular elections.
However, the representatives perceive possible political participation, besides elections, as being rather positive. The most preferred form
of involvement is public hearings, during which citizens may support or
criticise the self-government’s proposals. Although the citizens’ attitudes
are not decisive or binding for the assemblies, these are still an important
tool of local democracy. As many as 93 % of the representatives consider
this form of citizen participation advisable. However, there is a lower level
of support for procedures during which citizens would participate in real
decisions and not only in consultations. Almost a half of the representatives (46 %) do not regard the introduction of procedures in which citizens
would be able to make binding decisions as suitable. Even lower support
is given to procedures connected with the budget of the city. Procedures
in which citizens may prepare the budget are seen as unacceptable by 60 %
of the representatives. As many as 77 % of the representatives reject the
idea that citizens could vote about the local budget. This type of attitude
was also confirmed by the answers to a question that tried to identify areas suitable for the direct involvement of citizens. Budgeting is not seen as
a suitable area by 76 % of the respondents; on the other hand, the highest
level of support concerned the preparation of the land use plan30 (77 % of
the answers were positive) and environmental issues (66 %).
30
The high support for direct involvement of citizens in land planning, however, reflects
current legislation rather than the will of local politicians. The Law on Planning and
building regulations (No. 183/2006 Coll.) allows consultations with inhabitants of
given municipality and direct involvement of representatives of the citizens in the
preparation of relevant documents.
158
The survey reveals that the representatives of the five cities consider
citizen participation in the administration of the city advisable. Still, what
they perceive as sufficient forms of involvement are briefing, consultations, and participation in public hearings – that means processes related
to the stage of preparing future decisions. Likewise, the representatives of
the cities under examination are not eager for citizen participation in the
field of decision making and policy making.
Conclusion
Within the municipality’s scope of action, citizens currently have rather
extensive rights. Apart from regular elections to the municipal assemblies,
citizens have the option to instigate and participate in a local referendum,
submit petitions and initiatives to the representatives, and participate in
meetings of the assembly with a right to expression and a right to have
information. Notwithstanding this, from the point of view of other approaches to democracy, it may be stated that there is still considerable space
for the introduction of reforms which would permit the active involvement
of citizens not only in the stage of preparing the policies, but also in the
stages of adopting specific decisions and the implementation of selected
solutions. This is because there is a high demand for effective options to
influence local politics on the citizens’ side. At the same time, citizens perceive the existing opportunities as insufficient.
Similarly, the elected representatives of Jeseník, Olomouc, Prostějov,
Přerov, and Šumperk favour the possible wider involvement of citizens.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that the declared support for citizen participation may change along with a rising level of animosity or conflict in
the local communities. In the case of conflicting attitudes and opinions,
the majority of the representatives would take a stand regardless of the
momentary public feelings. This is understandable to a certain extent,
especially with respect to the political responsibility of the representatives
in the existing model of local politics.
Part IV
13 Conclusion: Polish and Czech urban governance in comparative perspective 161
13 CONCLUSION: POLISH AND CZECH URBAN
GOVERNANCE IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE
Pavel Šaradín
In the book, “Representatives of Czech towns and Municipalities from a
European Perspective” (Ryšavý, Šaradín 2011), we focused, among other
subjects, on the comparison between Czech and Polish representatives,
particularly their opinions and attitudes to selected political themes.
We based this on the first research project which was carried out in
an international environment and which dealt with Czech and Polish
municipal representatives from the beginning of the renewal of selfgovernment in the 1990’s (for example Local Democracy and Innovation
1991–1997) and almost twenty years later (2008). From the comparison,
it emerged that at the beginning of the transformation, a number of indicators of the characteristics of the representatives diverged, whereas after twenty years, from the standpoint of socially demographic indicators,
there was a significant coming together of these two national groups of
community representatives. We can therefore say that the existence of the
democratic environment led in a number of regards to a homogenisation
of the characteristics of the Polish and Czech members of the municipal
government. The differences from the beginnings of the 1990’s can be primarily explained by the distinct development of both countries during
the 20th Century, especially from a social and economic perspective. We
can add to this the fact that in a similar way the transformation period
brought together the characteristics of the representatives from Central
and Western Europe (an increase in the number of women represented in
the elected bodies, the average age of the representatives, the percentage
of university educated individuals, etc.)
Dan Ryšavý and I came to the conclusion that after twenty years, Czech
and Polish representatives are much more similar, this level of homogeni-
162
sation was surprising, yet it had some small exceptions (Ryšavý, Šaradín
2011). We will leave these aside for now. When devising a questionnaire
for the members of the municipal representatives in the Olomouc Region
(OR) and the Opole Voivodeship (OV), we presumed that the opinions
and attitudes of the local representatives of the examined cities would be
different primarily in the areas which reflected a different institutional setting. For example, this would be seen in the position (influence) of the
individual representative and bodies of the self-governed units (mayor,
council, local authority), in opinions in the method of election of mayors,
the possibilities for their recall, etc.
In this chapter, we will concentrate primarily on opinions which concern
three areas: (1) selected reform measures, (2) the form of civic participation and (3) democratic governance. The aim is to ascertain how the Polish
and Czech representatives form an attitude to these in the studied cities.
We will first focus on that which can be labelled as reform proposals in
the area of local politics. In various European and national research projects,
the selected politicians on all levels were asked in the questionnaires what
opinions they have towards several reform proposals. These can also be
proposals that lead to economic efficiency (see New Public Management),
or political reforms. Classic cases include referendums and the direct elections of mayors (Kersting, Vetter 2003). For research into the municipal
representatives of the Opole Voivodeship (OV) and the Olomouc Region
(OR), we have selected several more or less standard questions, which can
be seen in Table 1. At the same time, it does not matter if the researched
measures existed or not in the given country. Matters which were founded
on different political practice were shown to be completely distinct. This
was especially noticeable in the cases of direct election of mayors, where
the Polish representatives supported this as a suitable reform proposal in
90% of cases, whereas only 40% of the Czech representatives supported
this proposal (the sum of “suitable” and “somewhat suitable”). The level
of support in the Czech Republic falls somewhere between supports and
somewhat does not support. All previous research showed that the support for the local representatives and executives for the direct election of
mayor was always considerable and never fell below 50% (Jüptner 2009,
Šaradín, Ryšavý 2011,), and this was true even in cities. It has been shown
very often that the support is not at all related to the size of the munici-
pality; specifically the assumption is not valid that support will be higher
for the direct election of mayors in the smaller municipalities than in the
bigger cities. The lower support that we recorded could be influenced by
the experience of the first direct election of the President, which took place at the beginning of 2013. The very aggressive campaign, along with the
first steps of the elected President Miloš Zeman, polarised the society and
caused a certain amount of disillusionment. In addition to this, there is
also one more possibility. In April 2011, the Council for the Union of Towns
and Municipalities of the Czech Republic rejected the introduction of the
direct election of mayors. In the statement to the press, we were informed
that “many mayors do not have adequate information or conception regarding the position of the directly elected mayor or regarding his authority,
as emerged from the survey which was sent out by the Union of Towns
and Municipalities of the Czech Republic in the previous weeks to the
members of the municipalities. It showed that many mayors, for example,
were not familiarised with the fact that the directly elected mayor would
not be a member of the local authority, and therefore would not vote in the
local authority and in that case would not contribute to the fundamental
decisions about the operation of the municipality.” This is why 63% of the
mayors rejected the direct elections in the survey by the Union. We must
observe that this was not the first negative decision by the Union due to
this reform attempt.
An opposite attitude was presented somewhat earlier by the Ministry
of the Interior of the Czech Republic: “As of March 31, 2011, a total of 2,431
municipalities had reacted to a survey, that is, 39% of all municipalities
in the Czech Republic (the statutory city and capital city of Prague was
not contacted). From the results of the survey, it emerged that the direct
election of mayors was currently supported by 65% of the municipalities
that reacted, which is nearly two-thirds of these municipalities. At the
same time, the results showed that the introduction of the direct election
of mayors was not supported exclusively in municipalities with a lower
number of inhabitants (up to 1,000 inhabitants), specifically that support
is practically not dependent on the number of inhabitants of the respective
municipality (the support moved in a stable manner in an interval from
66% in municipalities up to 500 inhabitants to 58% in municipalities with
more than 5,000 inhabitants; on average, therefore, the direct election of
164
mayors was supported by approximately two-thirds of the inhabitants in
every size category of municipalities that were contacted. Therefore, two
different surveys had two completely opposite results.
The difference in opinions was caused by the fact that the Ministry of the
Interior presented the representatives of the municipalities only with the
possibility of the introduction of the direct elections without presenting
their own proposal. Compared to this, the Union asked these following
questions to their members:
1. Do you agree with the introduction of the direct election of mayors?
2. Do you agree with the principle of the direct election of mayors in all
municipalities?
3. Would you like for the direct election of mayors to be amended by the
current local authority of the municipality, who would decide about
the existence or non-existence of the council (in municipalities up to
10,000 inhabitants)?
4. Are you aware of the fact that the position of the directly elected mayor
is not compatible with the position of a member of the local authority
of the municipality (the mayor would not be a member of the local
authority)? The directly elected mayor would therefore not be able to
approve of any resolution; he would not have influence on the budget
of the municipality and the program for the development of the municipality.
5. Do you agree with the recall of the directly elected mayor on the basis
of the results of a local referendum?
6. Would you like a one-round election with a relative majority?
The specification of parameters for the direct election, therefore, could
lead to a lower level of support among elected representatives.
Polish representatives had a more positive attitude towards the possibility of the recall of politicians; it was supported by two-thirds of them,
whereas Czech representatives, who do not have any experience with
this instrument, reject the proposal (60%). The lower support among
the representatives of the cities of the Olomouc Region can be caused
by debates on this proposal. At the same time, direct democracy and the
recall of politicians in the Czech Republic have been in the political programs of primarily populist formations such as Úsvit přímé demokracie
(Dawn of Direct Democracy). Recall is understood by Smith (2011) as an
instrument of democratic legitimacy and an innovation and he considers
it to be successful. However, the manner in which Úsvit has been promoting this proposal has discredited it. In the Polish case, Smith approves
of the fact “that the quorum for participation is established based on the
previous electoral participation in the municipality, which is separate from
the validity of the referendum based on demographic conditions strongly
influenced by the overall participation, such as the number of inhabitants.”
(Smith 2011: 342–343)
The second area regards opinions about civic participation, precisely the
role of the citizen in local politics.31 In the election period from 2010–2014,
both countries underwent debates regarding several participative forms.
In Poland, the Polish representatives have greater experience with a participative budget process, which is evidently reflected in the support of the
citizens for their being connected to the procedures leading to the preparation of the budget. It is seen here as a suitable instrument by more than
70% of the representatives surveyed, while in the Olomouc region only
about a third of the city representatives surveyed supported this. A higher
level of acceptance of the role of the citizen among the representatives of
the Polish cities of the Opole Province is evident at the same time in the
support for citizen influence in accepting binding decisions in certain
local matters. Representatives from the Opole Province support this procedure much more than the city representatives of the Olomouc Region,
specifically by 20%. Their opinions differ less in both sets of survey data
on the suitability of municipal referendum, even if there still predominates a moderately higher level of support among the Polish representatives.
31 The analysis is based on the survey that was conducted among all elected representatives of the selected cities in both countries (members of the city councils Poland
and members of municipal assemblies in the Czech Republic). In total, there are 107
councillors in selected Polish cities and 167 representatives in Czech cities. The survey’s
response rate in Polish cities was 84.1%, whereas in the cities in the Czech Republic
it reached 40%.
166
Table 29. Comparison of opinions and attitudes of city representatives
Municipal referendum
Unsuitable
Somewhat Somewhat
unsuitable Suitable
Suitable
OR
OV
OR
OV
OR
OV
OR
OV
Other
OR
OV
3
6,5
20,5
11
56
37
20,5
40
Procedures in which the
citizens can prepare the
budget of the city
5,5
17,5
7,5
47,5
14
32,5 42,5
2,5
30,5
–
–
Direct elections of mayors
17,5
1
32,5
5,5
31
13
19
78,5
–
–
Referendum for recall of
bodies of local self-government/mayors
20,5
7,5
39,5
23
26
32,5
14
32,5
–
–
citizens can accept the
budget of the city
12
18,3
38
66,2 27,2 14,1 18,5
1,4
–
–
citizens can accept binding decisions in certain
local matters
8,1
3,3
33,8 12,0 45,9 45,7 12,2 30,4
–
–
Source: Authors’ own research based on the survey among representatives of selected cities.
Table 30. Comparison of opinions and attitudes of city representatives –
continuation
Definitely
agree
Somewhat Somewhat
agree
disagree
Definitely
disagree
No
response
OR
OR
OV
OR
OV
OR
OV
The integrity of city
representatives is high
and it is not possible to
influence the decisions
of the representative by
offering advantages
OV
33,3 57,6 46,4 16,3 14,5 16,3
5,8
1,1
–
–
The partnership between
the public and private sector is more effective than
the local administration in
solving problems
12,9 19,6
40
47,8
40
16,3
7,1
8,7
–
–
Political decisions should
be debated with those
who the matter concerns
41,7 43,5 52,8
37
5,6
13
0
0
–
–
Corruption on the local
level is lower than on the
Republic-wide level (Parliament, Government)
22,4 31,5 62,7 30,4
9
15,2
6
8,7
–
–
Political parties are the
best platform for citizen
participation
21,9
5,6
30,4
0
25
–
–
An important task of the
representatives is to defend the interests of those
who are not represented
in an appropriate manner
28,6 51,1 46,4 29,3 14,5
8,7
5,8
4,3
–
–
Critical information from
the citizens leads to a
high public discussion
21,9 35,9 61,4 46,7 21,4 28,3
4,3
2,2
–
–
Competition among providers facilitates citizens
when selecting public
services
37,5 29,3 52,8
0
0
–
–
12
52,8
OV
25
50
OR
9,7
12
168
Definitely
agree
Somewhat Somewhat
agree
disagree
Definitely
disagree
No
response
OR
OR
OR
OV
OR
OV
OR
OV
The state interferes too
much with the local
administration
OV
OV
28,2 54,3 39,4 23,9 32,4
8,7
0
2,2
–
–
The cities have an adequate share of the public
finances
7,1
37
20
25
–
–
10,9 28,6 17,4 44,3
Source: Authors’ own research.
In 2008, when we wanted to examine the theme of corruption in European surveys, we realized that in the international surveys only one question was devoted to this theme and it was asked indirectly: “The integrity
of city representatives is high and it is not possible to influence the decisions of the representatives by offering advantages.” The absence of more
question regarding corruption led my colleague Dan Ryšavý to speculate
that such a small amount of space for corruption was probably provided
by someone who comes from an environment where the level of corruption is minimal (the coordinator of the project was Henry Bäck from Sweden). We incorporated the same question into our survey. A third of the
Czech representatives identified with the answer that the integrity of the
politicians was definitely high, and in the Polish part of the survey it was
20% higher. After totaling the answers of “definitely agree” and “somewhat
agree” the support as a percentage became even. City representatives of
both regions were able to answer the question of whether they thought
that corruption was lower on the local level than on the Republic-wide
level. In the case of the city representatives of the Olomouc Regions, 80%
agreed with this viewpoint, and 60% of those agreed with this statement
from the Opole Voivodeship.
The third area of our comparison was the area of democratic governance. Usually, we place here questions which concern the role of the political
participants, their attitudes to the citizens, etc. Whereas on the Republic-wide level, the role of the political parties is fundamental, in the case of
the local level their position is weaker. The size of the municipality plays a
significant role. In the smaller municipalities, there is higher representation of independent formations and candidates because the political parties
do not have adequate number of members and concentrate primarily on
the larger municipalities, or more precisely the cities. However, we must
mention that Poland has almost four thousand fewer municipalities than
the Czech Republic; the smallest municipalities are therefore many-times
larger than the Czech ones. Almost three-fourths of the representatives
of the five surveyed cities in the Olomouc Region, therefore those where
there is the strongest role of the parties in the local authority, agree with
the statement that political parties are the best platform for citizen participation. Among the city representatives of the city in the Opole Province,
the number was approximately half of this (37%).
A higher responsiveness towards the citizens can be interpreted on the
basis of support for the statement, “Political decision should be debated with
those who the matter concerns,” which received more than 90% support
from Czech representatives. The support was also very high in the Opole
Voivodeship. Representatives of both countries were very positive (over 80%
of respondents) towards the pronouncement “Critical information from the
citizens leads to a high public discussion,” which is positive in and of itself.
A detailed study of their decision making would show us how much their
attitude is executed in practice. The final thesis which we verified was “an
important task of the representatives is to defend the interests of those who
are not represented in an appropriate manner.” Again we met with positive
responses; the level of support was somewhat higher in the Polish cities.
The position “definitely agree” was even given by over 50% of respondents.
The collection of questions also contained two which concerned the
relationship between the local authority and the national government.
These, however, were not the subject of our comparison. Yet, from the
Table 30 we can see that the representatives of both regions complained
about too much interference from the national government into areas of
their authority and at the same time are not satisfied with the proportion
of public financing.
In the chapter, we were able to prove the original expectation that the
responses of the representatives of both regions would differ primarily in
their experience with the institutional settings, such as the direct election
of mayors or the possibility of the recall of politicians. It also showed the
responsiveness towards the citizens, primarily in the fact that the elected
politicians should be interested in citizen’s opinions and also to promote
them.
Bibliography
171
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Notes on the Contributors 179
Notes on the Contributors
Piotr Bujak is publicist, PhD student in political science at the University of
Opole. Author of publications related to the issues of national and ethnic
identity in Upper Silesia. The scope of his research interests also include issues related to local government and local history.
Adam Drosik is Assistant in the Institute of Political Science at the University
of Opole. His research interests include issues related to political marketing,
in particular crisis management and the impact of the mass media.
Ewa Ganowicz is Researcher at the University of Opole. Her scientific interests cover the following topics: national minorities in Central and Eastern
Europe, the theory of democracy, and local and regional policy in Poland.
Piotr Klimontowski is Deputy Director of the Institute of Political Science at
the University of Opole. His research areas include contemporary social
systems and local government in Poland.
Danuta Kisielewicz is Professor in the Institute of Political Science at the
University of Opole, Vice Dean at the Faculty of History and Pedagogics
in 2005–2008, member of the Polish Historical Society’s Board, the Polish
Association of Political Sciences, the Board of the National Association of
Military Historians in Warsaw, and chairman of the Association of Friends
of the Central Museum of Prisoners of War in Łambinowice-Opole.
Michal Kuděla is PhD student in political science in the Department of Politics and European Studies at Palacký University in Olomouc. His research
focuses on local and regional politics and intra party relations and candidate selection methods.
Karel Páral is Assistant in the Department of Journalism at the Palacký University in Olomouc. His research focuses on local and regional politics and
local media.
Lech Rubisz is Director of the Institute of Political Sciences at the University
of Opole. He is author of scientific papers in the field of political theory,
methodology, political science and political philosophy.
180
Radomir Sztwiertnia is Assistant in the Department of Politics and European
Studies at the Palacký University in Olomouc. He is co-author of publication on local politics in Moravia-Silesia Region.
Pavel Šaradín is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and European Studies at the Palacký University in Olomouc. He is author of books
and articles on political ideology, second-order elections, local politics in
the Czech Republic, and EU-Turkey relations. He is Editor-in-Chief of the
journal Contemporary European Studies.
Aleksandra Trzcielińska-Polus is Professor in the Institute of Political Science
at the University of Opole. Her research interests include international relations (political and economic), changes in borderland regions and contemporary Polish-German relations. She is author of over 100 papers and articles,
including two compact copyright publications.
Bożena Wroniszewska is PhD student in the Department of Political Science
at University of Opole. Author and co-author of publications on local politics, corruption in Russia and on formula between the East and the West
popularized in the Ukrainian discourse on identity.
Abstract 181
Abstract
The book is the result of a joint research project involving scholars from the
Institute of Political Science of Opole University and from the Department
of Politics and European Studies at the Palacký University in Olomouc,
who have a long standing interest in how Czech and Polish cities have been
transformed during the past 25 years of economic, social and particularly
political transition. The books offers a deeper understanding of the change
of Moravian cities (Olomouc, Prostějov, Přerov, and Šumperk) and the
Silesian cities (Jeseník, Głogówek, Głuchołazy, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Nysa,
Opole) after the transition to democracy and an overall understanding of
the development of democratic governance in Central Europe.
This book deals with two neighbouring Central European regions –
Opole Voivodeship in Poland and the Olomouc Region in the Czech Republic. Even though the political and socioeconomic processes in these
regions are determined by the distinct developments in both countries after
the fall of the communist regimes, we can identify a number of similarities
which indicate the general trends in the development of urban governance
in connection with the transition, integration of regions into supranational
European organizations, and participation in the global economy. In the
case of these two regions, we can highlight some general problems in their
peripheral areas during the post-transitional period as well.
Urban politics in small and medium-sized cities are studies by the
authors of the publication. For over quarter of a century, the cities have
been developing a system of self-government, which has become one of
the key foundations of the now completed process of democratisation.
Following problematic original stage of renewing self-government, consolidating the system of representation at local level and the processes of
managing self-governing authority, civil society at the urban level gradually
matured, which should have bolstered the formation of a stable, participatory political culture. However, the level of political participation is still
rather low. We observe low voter turnout in local elections and sporadic
182
use (or on the contrary abuse) of direct participation tools (local referendums) and low citizen interest in governance.
Despite these negative facts, most inhabitants of Poland and the Czech
Republic trust their elected representative bodies more than their elected
representatives in Parliament. Third sector organisations are active in all
cities and gradually seek to establish the broadest possible citizen involvement in governance and to increase transparency and accountability of
self-government.
The volume draws on theoretical and empirical research and is divided
into four parts. Part one deals with the theoretical foundations of urban
governance in Central European countries. The first chapter reflects on
democratic governance in cities. In following chapters the selected cities
are studied with regards to the legal framework, electoral competition,
identity of the city, and development of civil society. The book is concluded by analysis of the attitudes of the representatives from ten cities in
both regions towards the prospects of citizen involvement and to possible
reforms of local government.
Cities
in Transition
Urban Governance in Olomouc Region
and Opole Voivodeship
Ewa Ganowicz, Lech Rubisz, Radomir Sztwiertnia (editors)
Civipolis, o.p.s.
Bystrovanská 19A, Olomouc 779 00
Typeset by Markéta Pučoková
Cover by Tomáš Tichák
Printed in the Czech Republic by EPAVA Olomouc, a. s.,
Chválkovická 223/5, Olomouc
2013
ISBN 978-80-905527-2-2

Cities in Transition

Transcription

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