The Left Lewica | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leaders | |
| Parliamentary leader | Anna Maria Żukowska |
| Founded | 19 July 2019 |
| Preceded by | United Left |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-left to left-wing |
| National affiliation | Senate Pact 2023 (for 2023 Senate election) |
| Members | New Left Left Together Polish Socialist Party Labour Union Social Democracy of Poland Freedom and Equality |
| Sejm | 26 / 460 |
| Senate | 9 / 100 |
| European Parliament | 7 / 52 |
| Regional assemblies | 11 / 552 |
| City Presidents | 11 / 107 |
| Website | |
| klub-lewica | |
The Left (Polish: Lewica) is a political alliance in Poland. Initially founded to contest the 2019 parliamentary election, the alliance now consists of the New Left and Left Together.[1]
It also originally consisted of Democratic Left Alliance and Spring until its merging to create the New Left, including the Polish Socialist Party that left the coalition in 2021. It is also supported by several minor left-wing parties, including Your Movement, Yes for Łódź,[2] Urban Movement,[3] and the Polish Communist Party.[4]
The Left is a catch-all coalition of the Polish left,[5] and it is positioned on the centre-left[5][6] and left-wing.[7] It is mainly orientated towards the principles of social democracy,[8] and democratic socialism.[9] It also advocates progressive, social-liberal[10] and secular policies, including LGBT rights.[11][12] It is supportive of Poland's membership in the European Union.[12]
In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, The Left coalition is technically participating as the New Left party, whose list includes representatives of Left Together, Labour Union, Polish Socialist Party, Freedom and Equality and Social Democracy of Poland.[13][14]
Voter base
As Lewica is formed as a unification of the Polish left, it has attempted to diversify its platform and appeal to a broader range of voters, rather than relying mostly on the votes of former officials and civil servants during the PPR period, which had been and continues to be one of the Democratic Left Alliance's largest voting blocs. This attempt, however, was met with somewhat limited success by the fact that the coalition's pro-LGBT rights platform failed to appeal to working class and economically left-leaning Poles, which tend to favour a more socially conservative policy (especially as both economically interventionist and social conservative positions were already being provided by the right-wing PiS party). At the same time, the more liberally-oriented city-dwelling population, which could favour the party's proposed socially progressive policies, found little appeal in the party's platform of economic interventionism.[5][15][16]
Despite this, some sociologists theorized that the unification of the parties could lead to an overall mobilization of leftist voters,[17] which could now feel that their vote for the coalition wouldn't be wasted.[5] This was confirmed to be the case when Lewica succeeded in electing 49 members to the Sejm and 2 members to the Senate of Poland in the 2019 Polish parliamentary election, thus making the coalition Poland's third largest political force and overturning a four-year absence of left-wing representatives in Poland's parliament.[18][19]
In addition, the party's platform, which differs greatly from the platforms of the other major Polish political parties, has managed to find some support among disillusioned younger and secular voters, which don't identify with any political force or even with the left, but instead desire "something new".[16][20]
At the same time, the party also received a considerable boost in support among older voters after the ruling PiS party passed a "degradation law", which cut retirement pensions and disability benefits for thousands of former bureaucrats during the PPR period, whose main income was now directly threatened by the new government policy. This led to an expansion and consolidation of the otherwise shrinking of the Democratic Left Alliance's previously described voting bloc.[20]
Ideology
The 2019 electoral program of the Left included:[21][22]
- investments in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency,
- rewilding, including reforestation and restoration of wetlands,
- appointment of the Commissioner for Animal Rights, prohibition of fur farming, use of animals in circuses and cage farming,
- universal national crop insurance against drought and flooding,
- cameras on police uniforms recording in continuous mode,
- moving 1/4 of ministries and government agencies outside Warsaw,
- abolishing the Institute of National Remembrance and the National Day of Remembrance of the "cursed soldiers",
- increasing R&D expenditure to 2% of GDP,
- sick leave pay and sickness benefit amounting to 100% of the basic salary plus bonuses and allowances,
- establishing a minimum wage at 60% of the average wage,
- minimum wage of 3500 PLN in the public sector,
- widening the competences of the National Labour Inspectorate,
- a maximum fee for a prescription drug of 5 PLN,
- increasing public healthcare expenditure to 7.2% of GDP in 2024,
- introducing health and sex education in schools,
- extinguishing the reprivatization claims,
- establishing a public enterprise to provide one million flats in the years 2021–2031,
- in vitro fertilization reimbursement,
- fully paid and compulsory leave with a minimum of 12 weeks for both parents of a newborn,
- transparency of church funding and abolishing the Church Fund,
- Separation of church and state
- liberalising Poland's abortion law,
- gender quotas in the Council of Ministers,
- introducing same-sex marriage and civil partnerships.
Composition
Current members
| Party | Ideology | Position | Leader | MPs[23] | Senators[24] | MEPs | Sejmiks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Left | Social democracy | Centre-left | Włodzimierz Czarzasty, Robert Biedroń | 19 / 460 |
5 / 100 |
4 / 51 |
11 / 552 | |
| Left Together | Democratic socialism | Left-wing | Magdalena Biejat, Adrian Zandberg | 7 / 460 |
2 / 100 |
0 / 51 |
0 / 552 | |
| Polish Socialist Party | Democratic socialism | Left-wing | Wojciech Konieczny | 0 / 460 |
1 / 100 |
0 / 51 |
0 / 552 | |
| Labour Union | Social democracy | Centre-left | Waldemar Witkowski | 0 / 460 |
1 / 100 |
0 / 51 |
0 / 552 | |
| Social Democracy of Poland | Social democracy | Centre-left | Wojciech Filemonowicz | 0 / 460 |
0 / 100 |
0 / 51 |
0 / 552 | |
| Freedom and Equality | Social democracy Democratic socialism |
Left-wing | Piotr Musiał | 0 / 460 |
0 / 100 |
0 / 51 |
0 / 552 | |
Election results
Sejm
| Year | Leader | Popular vote | % of vote | Seats | Seat change | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Włodzimierz Czarzasty | 2,319,946 | 12.56 (#3) | 49 / 460 |
New | PiS |
| 2023 | 1,859,018 | 8.61 (#4) | 26 / 460 |
 23 |
KO–PL2050–PSL–NL |
Senate
| Year | Leader | Popular vote | % of vote | Seats | Seat change | Majority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Włodzimierz Czarzasty | 415,745 | 2.28 (#4) | 2 / 100 |
n/a | KO-PSL-SLD |
| 2023 | 1,122,512 | 5.33 (#5) | 9 / 100 |
 7 |
KO-PSL-PL2050-NL-LR |
Presidential
| Election year | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | ||
| 2020 | Robert Biedroń | 432,129 | 2.22 (#6) | --- | --- |
References
- ↑ "What's Left in Poland? Can the 'three tenors' led by Adrian Zandberg, take on Poland's duopoly?".
- ↑ "Gill-Piątek: W Sejmie będę głosem skrzywdzonych przez system". KrytykaPolityczna.pl (in Polish). 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ↑ "Anita Kucharska-Dziedzic". Lewica - Oficjalna strona jedynej postępowej siły w polskiej polityce! (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- ↑ Pisze, Coschess (2019-10-10). "Jedyny komunistyczny kandydat w wyborach". KOMUNISTYCZNA PARTIA POLSKI (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-10-15.
- 1 2 3 4 "Socialists set to make comeback in Polish elections next month". The Independent. 2019-09-21. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ↑ "Poland election: Voters give verdict on four years of right-wing populists". The Independent. 13 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18.
The latest voting intention poll by Kantar has PiS and its allies on 43 per cent, the centre-right liberal Civic Platform on 28 per cent, and the left-of-centre Lewica on 13 per cent.
- ↑
- "House with a Garden: How PiS Paints the "Polish Dream"". Balkan Insight. 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- "Poland: Following the European elections, PiS maintains its dominant position in spite of the changing political scene | Heinrich Böll Stiftung". Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- "Nobel winner fears rising self-censorship in Poland". France 24. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- "How do Poland's ruling populists remain so popular? Follow the money". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- Warsaw, Derek Scally in. "Polish conservatives in final push to secure re-election". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- "Poland's LGBTQ community in the political crosshairs". POLITICO. 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ↑ "Partia Razem. Nowa partia dla prekariuszy" (in Polish). Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ↑ "Poland's election - what you need to know". 12 October 2019.
- ↑ "Neue Partei in Polen - "Frühling" macht der linken Mitte Hoffnung". Deutschlandfunk (in German). Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ↑
- Syska, Michał. Strengthening Social Democracy in the Visegrad Countries (PDF). Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
- "Interview with Adrian Zandberg, Partia Razem". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- "Spring in Poland: Liberal View on Robert Biedron's New Political Party". 4Liberty.eu. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- "Plan partii Biedronia w punktach". TVN24 (in Polish). Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- 1 2 "Polish conservatives in final push to secure re-election". The Irish Times. 11 October 2019.
Today's left-wing Lewica alliance has presented an anti-PiS, pro-EU programme espousing LGBT rights and loosening Poland's restrictive abortion laws.
- ↑ "Nowa Lewica zatwierdziła listy wyborcze. Debata trwała godzinę". polsatnews.pl (in Polish). 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ↑ "Wybory do Sejmu i Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w 2023 r." wybory.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ↑ "Lewica: a united Polish left". www.ips-journal.eu. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- 1 2 SADURA, Przemysław; SIERAKOWSKI, Sławomir (2019). POLITICAL CYNICISM: The Case of Poland (PDF).
- ↑ "Poland's fragmented opposition coalesces into left, center blocs". Reuters. 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ↑ Hoffman, Steven (2019-10-18). "5 takeaways from the 2019 Polish parliament election". The Krakow Post. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
- ↑ "Whither Poland? After the 2019 parliamentary elections". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
- 1 2 Szczerbiak, Aleks (2018-04-30). "What are the prospects for the Polish left?". London School of Economics series on Evidence-based analysis and commentary on European politics. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ "Program Wyborczy Lewicy".
- ↑ "Why vote for the left?". LEWICA.
- ↑ "KOMITET WYBORCZY NOWA LEWICA (SEJM)". wybory.gov.pl. Polish National Electoral Office/Commission. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ↑ "KOMITET WYBORCZY NOWA LEWICA (SENAT)". wybory.gov.pl. Polish National Electoral Office/Commission. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
