Why did the liberum veto make the Sejm difficult to govern?

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The liberum veto made the Sejm difficult to govern because it required absolute unanimity for any legislation to pass. Based on the principle of political equality among the nobility, a single deputy could defeat any measure by exclaiming "Nie pozwalam!" ("I disapprove!").12

This mechanism paralyzed the government in several ways:

  • Legislative Stagnation: Because every bill required unanimous consent, any individual deputy could block essential reforms or government business.12
  • Dissolution of Sessions: A deputy could use the veto to dissolve the entire Sejm, which nullified all acts previously passed during that session and forced them to be resubmitted to a future legislature.12
  • Foreign Interference: The system left the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth vulnerable to foreign powers, who frequently bribed delegates to exercise their veto to block legislation contrary to their interests.12
  • Resistance to Centralization: The nobility viewed the veto as a safeguard of their traditional freedoms, making any attempt to centralize power or strengthen the state nearly impossible.12

Ultimately, this reckless use of the veto brought government business to a standstill, contributing to the state's decline.12