Explaining the absence of christian democracy in contemporary Poland

Szczerbiak and Bale explain why no self-declared Christian Democratic party has been successful in post-1989 Poland—despite the fact that almost all Poles are Roman Catholics, and that religion has played an important part in post-Communist Polish politics. None of the currently successful Polish parties that identify themselves, or have identified themselves, with the center-right profile themselves as Christian Democratic, nor can they be labeled as such objectively. While superficially Poland looks like fertile ground for Christian Democracy, the factors that were crucial to the formation and success of Christian Democratic parties in postwar Western Europe were largely absent during the emergence of democratic, multi-party politics in post-Communist Poland. Indeed, it is unlikely that such a conjuncture will ever occur anywhere in Europe again