Polish Initiative

Not to be confused with Initiative RP or Initiative for Poland.

Polish Initiative
Inicjatywa Polska
LeaderBarbara Nowacka
Founded20 February 2016; 8 years ago (2016-02-20)
Registered2019
Split from
HeadquartersWarsaw
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left
National affiliationCivic Coalition
Senate Pact 2023 (for 2023 Senate election)
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party Group
Colours
  •   Red
  •   White
Sejm
3 / 460
Senate
0 / 100
European Parliament
1 / 52
Regional Assemblies
2 / 552
City Presidents
1 / 107
Website
ipl.org.pl

The Polish Initiative (Polish: Inicjatywa Polska [i.ɲi.t͡sjaˈtɘ.va ˈpɔl.ska], iPL) is a progressive political party in Poland. It was formed as an association in 2016, and was registered as a political party in 2019. Its leader is Barbara Nowacka, and it is a part of the Civic Coalition. It supports principles of social liberalism, social democracy and secularism. It has been described as centre-right,[1] centrist,[2] centre-left[3] or left-wing.[4]

History

The association Polish Initiative was created on February 20, 2016,[5] by Barbara Nowacka, a former member of the Your Movement and the United Left electoral alliance for the 2015 parliamentary election.[6] It was registered as a political party in 2019.[7]

In 2018, the Initiative joined the Civic Coalition for the local elections. Two of its candidates were elected to the Voivodeship sejmiks.

The association joined the European Coalition for the 2019 European Parliament election.[8] However, because of being in the process of the registration as a political party, its members did not compete in the election.[9]

The party joined the Civic Coalition for the 2019 parliamentary election. Two of the party candidates, including its leader Barbara Nowacka and two candidates recommended by the party, were elected to the Sejm. The Coalition won 134 in total, losing to the ruling party Law and Justice.[10]

The Polish Initiative supported the Civic Coalition's candidate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska in the 2020 presidential election. Later, the Polish Initiative announced that it would as a party not take part in the election on 10 May, due to change of electoral rules because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] However, after the election was moved it supported Rafał Trzaskowski, who became the Civic Coalition's candidate after the resignation of Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska. Trzaskowski later lost in the second round to the incumbent Andrzej Duda.[12]

Ideology

The Polish Initiative is a progressive,[13] social liberal,[14] and social-democratic party.[15] It sits on the centre-right,[1] centrist,[2] centre-left[3] or left-wing on the political spectrum.[4]

The party supports the decentralisation of power and increasing the power of local governments. It also supports European integration. On social issues, it is against any forms of discrimination, with an emphasis on gender discrimination. The party also advocates for the separation of church and state.[16] The party also supports increasing the funding of the Polish healthcare system.[6]

Election results

Presidential

Election year Candidate 1st round 2nd round
# of overall votes % of overall vote # of overall votes % of overall vote
2020 supported Rafał Trzaskowski 5,917,340 30.5 (#2) 10,018,263 48.9 (#2)

Sejm

Election year Leader Votes % Seats +/– Government
2019 Barbara Nowacka 113,278 0.6
6 / 460
 New PiS
As part of Civic Coalition, which won 134 seats in total.
2023 Barbara Nowacka 252,021 1.2
4 / 460
 Decrease 2 KO–PL2050–KP–NL
As part of Civic Coalition, which won 157 seats in total.

European Parliament

Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
2024 Barbara Nowacka 4,359,443 37.06 (#1)
1 / 53
 New EPP
As part of Civic Coalition, which won 21 seats in total.

Regional Assemblies

Election year Percentage of
vote 		Number of
overall seats won 		+/–
2018 27.0 (#2)
2 / 552
As part of Civic Coalition, which won 194 seats in total.

Board[17]

Leader

Secretary

  • Tomasz Sybilski

Treasurer

  • Katarzyna Osowiecka

Other members

  • Anna Uzdowska-Gacek
  • Barbara Starska
  • Dariusz Joński
  • Szymon Wiłnicki
  • Adam Ostaszewski
  • Mateusz Rambacher
  • Arkadiusz Dzierżyński

References

  1. ^ a b Bátora, Jozef; Fossum, John Erik (2024-05-15). Differentiation and Dominance in Europe's Poly-Crises. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-003-86036-5.
  2. ^ a b Lang, Sabine; Meier, Petra; Sauer, Birgit (2022-12-01). Party Politics and the Implementation of Gender Quotas: Resisting Institutions. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-031-08931-2.
  3. ^ a b
  4. ^ a b
  5. ^ "Polish Initiative - new left-wing association | Polska Agencja Prasowa SA". www.pap.pl.
  6. ^ a b Naklicka, Tatiana (2018-10-12). "Inicjatywa Polska". wiadomosci.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  7. ^ ""Inicjatywa Polska" - Pozycja 38713 - Numer 143/2019 (5782) z 25 lipca 2019 r. - Internetowy Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy". www.imsig.pl. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  8. ^ "Koalicja Europejska rozszerza się o nowe ugrupowania, m.in. UED, IP i KOD". May 14, 2019.
  9. ^ "Nowackiej zabrakło wśród liderów opozycji. Dlaczego?". fakty.interia.pl.
  10. ^ "Wybory do Sejmu i Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 2019 r." sejmsenat2019.pkw.gov.pl.
  11. ^ wybory.gov.pl/prezydent20200628/
  12. ^ "Wybory Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w 2020 r." wybory.gov.pl.
  13. ^ "Four questions on the Polish parliamentary elections". Centre for European Reform. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  14. ^ "Die polnische Opposition vor den Parlamentswahlen 2023: Liegt ein Machtwechsel in der Luft?". Konrad Adenauer Foundation (in German). 1 February 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  15. ^ "Invitation: Poland has voted – Europe after the elections". Wielkopolska.eu (in Polish). Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  16. ^ "O nas – Inicjatywa Polska".
  17. ^ "Zarząd partii – Inicjatywa Polska".