‘Polish Friends of Beer Party’ Expected to Hoist Candidates Into Parliament

It started as harmless fun--some beer and laughs for people fed up with the confusion and infighting of Polish politics.

The Polish Friends of Beer Party was founded last April at, appropriately, a beer bash.

Now the party--jokingly referred to as “the best-tasting party in Poland”--is among the nation’s top dozen political parties and is widely expected to win seats in today’s parliamentary election. That’s no mean feat in an election being contested by 69 parties.

Initially, the party’s platform was simple: A cleaner environment means better beer. Delegates also argued that Poles should become accustomed to drinking more beer, instead of native vodka.

By September, however, voters found that the party was hoping to become a voice for Poland’s emerging business community.

Explaining the change, Rewinski said the “clean environment, better beer” manifesto wouldn’t have gotten the party elected. A cleaner environment is something few Poles, faced with more immediate economic concerns, have time to worry about, he said.