Spring
Wiosna
LeaderRobert Biedroń
General SecretaryKrzysztof Gawkowski
FounderRobert Biedroń
Founded3 February 2019 (2019-02-03)
Dissolved11 June 2021 (2021-06-11)
Split fromYour Movement
Democratic Left Alliance (minor)
Merged intoNew Left
HeadquartersWarsaw
Youth wingMłoda Lewica (Young Left)
LGBT wingTęczowa Wiosna (Rainbow Spring)
Women's wingWiosna Kobiet (Women's Spring)
IdeologySocial liberalism[1][2]
Political positionCentre-left[3]
National affiliationThe Left
European Parliament groupProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Colors  Purple
  Orange
SloganWe are the Spring!
AnthemPiosenka Wiosny (Song of Spring)[4]
Website
wiosnabiedronia.pl

Spring (Polish: Wiosna) was a social-liberal and pro-European political party in Poland led by a former mayor of Słupsk, Robert Biedroń.

History

The party was founded on 3 February 2019 in Hala Torwar and ran in the 2019 European elections,[5] winning three seats.[6]

For the 2019 parliamentary election, the party formed a coalition with the Democratic Left Alliance and Razem, known as The Left, winning 19 seats in the Sejm.

The party was set to merge with the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) into a unitary party called the New Left in 2021. On 11 June 2021, the party's general assembly voted in favour of dissolving the party in order to merge with the SLD.[7] The merger was finished on 9 October 2021 via a unification congress.[8]

Ideology

Platform

The core ideology of the party revolves around issues such as women’s rights, equality, creating a better community, bringing the European Union closer to the citizens, civic participation, increasing green politics and animal rights, rights of disabled people, innovative education, better public transport, better healthcare and establishment of the Justice and Reconciliation Commission.[9]

The party proposes to introduce a minimum monthly pension at PLN 1,600 per month as well as raising the minimum wage to PLN 2,700 by 2020 and then PLN 3265 by 2022 per month. Another proposal is to introduce a new law that would set the minimum wage at 60% of the national monthly income average. Spring supports increasing wages of the teachers, and proposes to set the wage at PLN 3,500 per month for teachers that are just beginning their job. Abolition of ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) and KRUS (Agricultural Social Insurance Fund) and transferring their competences to the tax administration. Yet another proposal is free access to the internet in the entire country. The party also pledges to increase disability benefit and to introduce a paid weekly holiday for carers of the disabled.

On the environment, the party leader Biedroń stressed the importance of fighting smog by closing all mines by 2035, departing from coal and switching to renewable sources of energy. Biedroń also stressed the importance of protecting animal rights and called for the creation of an office of the Advocate of Natural Rights. On education, Spring takes a stance of making the education system more practical and less theory-based. The party also proposes to introduce obligatory anti-violence education and sex education in all types of schools, as well as doubling the number of hours during which English is taught in schools. Furthermore, the party wants to remove religious education classes from schools. Spring is committed to deglomeration of civil servant offices from Warsaw to other smaller cities. On world view issues, Spring takes a liberal stance by proposing to introduce civil partnerships for opposite-sex and same-sex couples as well as the legalisation of same-sex marriage, legalisation of abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, IVF funded by the state, total separation of church and state and abolition of the so-called Church Fund.[10] In a TV interview for TVN24, Biedroń stated that the cost of his party's programme will be 35 billion PLN.[11]

Election Results

Sejm

Election Votes % Seats Change Government
2019 2,319,946 12.6 (#3)
15 / 460
 n/a Opposition
As part of Democratic Left Alliance, which won 49 seats in total.

European Parliament

Election Votes % Seats Change
2019 826,975 6.1 (#3)
3 / 52
 n/a

Presidential

Election year Candidate 1st round 2nd round
Votes  % Votes  %
2020 Robert Biedroń 432,129 2.2 (#6)

References

  1. ↑ "Kann dieser schwule Atheist Polen verändern?". Bild. 5 February 2019.
  2. ↑ "„Frühling“ macht der linken Mitte Hoffnung". Deutschlandfunk. 3 February 2019.
  3. ↑ Chapman, Annabelle (27 February 2019). "How the Spring party is reviving the Polish left". New Statesman. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  4. ↑ "Piosenka Wiosny". wiosnabiedronia.pl. 3 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Wiosna - partia Roberta Biedronia. 'Czas na nowy rozdział - wspólnie zmienimy Polskę!'". Wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  6. ↑ "Eurowybory 2019: Kto dostał się do Parlamentu Europejskiego?". www.gazetaprawna.pl (in Polish). 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019. In English: "Eurovillage 2019: Who got into the European Parliament?"
  7. ↑ @KGawkowski (11 June 2021). "Coś się kończy, coś zaczyna!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ ""Łączy nas Polska". Kongres zjednoczeniowy Nowej Lewicy". Nowa Lewica (in Polish). Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "Wiosna".
  10. ↑ "Plan partii Biedronia w punktach".
  11. ↑ "Biedroń już wie: "35 mld zł będą kosztowały wszystkie przedstawione przeze mnie propozycje". A podliczył już te w Słupsku?".
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