Party Rebranding: Electoral and Intra-Party Consequences in Poland’ Polarized Society

Between 1945 and 2019, 25 per cent of all Western European parties participated in two or more elections changed their name at least once. The percentage of party rebranding in the new democracies is even higher, due to the low level of institutionalization of parties. As the most visible element of a party's brand, a name change implies a wholesale restructuring of the party's image, since this breaks, or at the very least dilutes, the set of associations that existed for the party until this change. Rebranding makes a party feel new or fresh, and studies have shown that new parties benefit simply from being new. A name change can have positive and negative consequences. A new name is a refresh, a new spirit, an opportunity to attract voter attention, to promote a new political offer. There are also at least a few threats. Firstly, rebranding can be negatively portrayed in the media as a sign of desperation as a result of decreasing electoral ratings. Secondly, a rebrand opens the party to attack from its rivals, who can accuse it of not having a strong identity or not standing up for its values. Thirdly, changes in the party's characteristics may provoke a reaction among members, thus reducing the party's support among its most committed activists. The consequences of rebranding will be studied using the example of the two largest Polish political parties (Civic Platform, and Law and Justice) to answer the question to what extent party rebranding in a highly conflictual electoral context with a high level of affective polarization shapes electoral and intra-party reactions. This question will be answered through experimental studies with rank-and-file party members (both parties separately) and with party supporters (also divided into two groups).