Civic Platform

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This article is about a political party in Poland. For the political party in Russia with the same name in English, see Civic Platform (Russia).

Civic Platform
Platforma Obywatelska
AbbreviationPO
ChairmanDonald Tusk
General Secretary
Parliamentary LeaderBorys Budka (KO club)
SpokespersonJan Grabiec
Founder
Founded24 January 2001 (2001-01-24)
Split from
Headquartersul. Wiejska 12A, 00-490 Warsaw
Youth wing [pl]
Membership (2018)33,500[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre to centre-right[nb 1]
National affiliationCivic Coalition
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party
Colours  Orange   Blue
Sejm
106 / 460
[nb 2]
Senate
38 / 100
[nb 3]
European Parliament
14 / 52
Regional assemblies
152 / 552
Website
www.platforma.org Edit this at Wikidata

Civic Platform (Polish: Platforma Obywatelska, PO)[nb 4] is a centre[2] to centre-right[3][nb 1] political party in Poland. Since its creation, the party has shown strong electoral performances in the City of Warsaw, the west, and the north of Poland.

Civic Platform came to power following the 2007 general election as the major coalition partner in Poland's government, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland. Tusk was re-elected as Prime Minister in the 2011 general election but stepped down three years later to assume the post of President of the European Council. Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz led the party in the 2015 general election but was defeated by the Law and Justice party. On 16 November 2015 Civic Platform government stepped down after exactly 8 years in power. In 2010 Civic Platform candidate Bronisław Komorowski was elected as President of Poland, but failed in running for re-election in 2015. PO is the second largest party in the Sejm, with 138 seats, and the Senate, with 40 seats. Civic Platform is a member of the European People's Party (EPP). The party was formed in 2001 as a split from Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS), under the leadership of Andrzej Olechowski and Maciej Płażyński, with Donald Tusk of the Freedom Union (UW). In the 2001 general election, PO emerged as the largest opposition party, behind the ruling centre-left party Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). PO remained the second-largest party at the 2005 general election, but this time behind the national-conservative party Law and Justice (PiS). In 2007, Civic Platform overtook PiS, now established as the dominant parties, and formed a coalition government with the Polish People's Party. Following the Smolensk disaster of April 2010, Bronisław Komorowski became the first President from PO in the 2010 presidential election.

History[]

The Civic Platform was founded in 2001 as economically liberal, Christian-democratic split from existing parties. Founders Andrzej Olechowski, Maciej Płażyński, and Donald Tusk were sometimes jokingly called "the Three Tenors" by Polish media and commentators. Olechowski and Płażyński left the party during the 2001–2005 parliamentary term, leaving Tusk as the sole remaining founder, and current party leader.

In the 2001 general election the party secured 12.6% of the vote and 65 deputies in the Sejm, making it the largest opposition party to the government led by the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD).

In the 2002 local elections PO stood together with Law and Justice in 15 voivodeships (in 14 as POPiS, in Podkarpacie with another centre-right political parties). They stood separately only in Mazovia.

In 2005, PO led all opinion polls with 26% to 30% of public support. However, in the 2005 general election, in which it was led by Jan Rokita, PO polled only 24.1% and unexpectedly came second to the 27% garnered by Law and Justice (PiS). A centre-right coalition of PO and PiS (nicknamed:PO-PiS) was deemed most likely to form a government after the election. Yet the putative coalition parties had a falling out in the wake of the fiercely contested Polish presidential election of 2005.

Lech Kaczyński (PiS) won the second round of the presidential election on 23 October 2005 with 54% of the vote, ahead of Tusk, the PO candidate. Due to the demands of PiS for control of all the armed ministries (the Defence Ministry, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the office of the Prime Minister, PO and PiS were unable to form a coalition. Instead, PiS formed a coalition government with the support of the League of Polish Families (LPR) and Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland (SRP). PO became the opposition to this PiS-led coalition government.

The PiS-led coalition fell apart in 2007 amid corruption scandal with Andrzej Lepper and Tomasz Lipiec[5] and internal leadership disputes. These events led to the new elections in 2007. In the 21 October 2007 parliamentary election, PO won 41.51% of the popular vote and 209 out of 460 seats (now 201) in the Sejm and 60 out of 100 seats (now 56) in the Senate of Poland. Civic Platform, now the largest party in both houses of parliament, subsequently formed a coalition with the Polish People's Party (PSL).

At the 2010 Polish presidential election, following the Smolensk air disaster which killed the incumbent Polish president Lech Kaczyński, Tusk decided not to present his candidature, considered an easy possible victory over PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński. During the PO primary elections, Bronisław Komorowski defeated the Oxford-educated, PiS defector Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. At the polls, Komorowski defeated Jarosław Kaczyński, ensuring PO dominance over the current Polish political landscape.[6]

In November 2010, local elections granted Civic Platform about 30.1 percent of the votes and PiS at 23.2 percent, an increase for the former and a drop for the latter compared to the 2006 elections.[6]

PO succeeded in winning four consecutive elections (a record in post-communist Poland), and Tusk remains as kingmaker. PO's dominance is also a reflection of left-wing weakness and divisions on both sides of the political scene, with PiS suffering a splinter in Autumn 2010.[6]

The 9 October 2011 parliamentary election was won by Civic Platform with 39.18% of the popular vote, 207 of 460 seats in the Sejm, 63 out of 100 seats in the Senate.[7]

In the 2014 European elections, Civic Platform came first place nationally, achieving 32.13% of the vote and returning 19 MEPs.[8]

In the 2014 local elections, PO achieved 179 seats, the highest single number.[9]

In the 2015 presidential election, PO endorsed Bronisław Komorowski, a former member of PO from 2001 till 2010. He lost the election receiving 48.5% of the popular vote, while Andrzej Duda won with 51.5%.[10]

In the 2015 parliamentary election, PO came second place after PiS, achieving 24.09% of the popular vote, 138 out of 460 seats in the Sejm, 34 out of 100 seats in the Senate.[11]

In the 2018 local elections, PO achieved 26.97% of the votes, coming second after PiS.[12]

In the 2019 European elections, PO participated in the European Coalition electoral alliance which achieved 38.47%, coming second after PiS.[13]

Ideology[]

As a centrist[2] or centre-right[3][nb 1] political party, Civic Platform has been described as liberal-conservative,[14][15][16][17][18][19] conservative-liberal,[20][21][22][23][24] liberal,[25][26][27] Christian-democratic,[28] conservative,[29] neoliberal,[29] social-liberal[30] and pro-European.[31]

Since 2007, when Civic Platform formed the government, the party has gradually moved from its Christian-democratic stances, and many of its politicians hold more liberal positions on social issues. In 2013, the Civic Platform's government introduced public funding of in vitro fertilisation program. Civic Platform also supports civil unions for same-sex couples but is against same-sex marriage and the adoption of children by same-sex couples. The party also currently supports liberalisation of the abortion law,[32] which it had opposed while in government.[33]

Despite declaring in the parliamentary election campaign the will to limit taxation in Poland, the Civic Platform has in fact increased it. The party refrained from implementing the flat tax, increasing instead the value-added tax from 22% to 23% in 2011.[34] It has also increased the excise imposed on diesel oil, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and oil.[35][36] The party has eliminated many tax exemptions.[37][38][39]

In response to the climate crisis, the Civic Platform has promised to end the use of coal for energy in Poland by 2040.[40]

After becoming the biggest opposition party, the Civic Platform became more socially liberal. This tendency is especially popular among the younger generation of party's politicians such as Mayor of Warsaw and candidate in the presidential election Rafał Trzaskowski. The party has also changed its opinion about the social programmes of PiS and PSL, starting to support them.[41][42][43]

Political support[]

See also: Poland A and B
Civic Platform's support is concentrated in the west and north of the country. Areas voting for Bronisław Komorowski in 2010 are shaded orange above.

Today, Civic Platform enjoys support amongst higher class constituencies. Professionals, academics, managers and businessmen vote for the party in large numbers. People with university degrees support the party more than less educated voters. PO voters tend to be those people who generally benefited from European integration and economic liberalisation since 1989 and are satisfied with their life standard. Many PO voters are social liberals who value environmentalism, secularism and Europeanisation. Young people are another voting bloc that support the party, though some of them withdrawed support after their economic and social situation did not improve significantly when PO was in government. Conservatives used to vote for the party before PO moved sharply to the left on economic (e.g., increase of taxes) and social issues (e.g., support for civil unions).

Areas that are more likely to vote for PO are in the west and north of the country, especially parts of the former Prussia before 1918. Many of these people previously used to vote for the Democratic Left Alliance when that party enjoyed support and influence. Large cities in the whole country prefer the party, rather than rural areas and smaller towns. This is caused by the diversity, secularism and social liberalism urban voters tend to value. In urban areas, conservative principles are much less identified with by voters. Large cities in Poland have a better economic climate, which draws support to PO.

Leadership[]

No. Image Name Tenure
1. Maciej Płażyński 2.jpg Maciej Płażyński 18 October 2001–
1 June 2003
2. Donald Tusk (6165309851) (cropped).jpg Donald Tusk 1 June 2003–
8 November 2014
3. Ewa Kopacz debata z Szydło (19.10.2015).jpg Ewa Kopacz 8 November 2014–
26 January 2016
4. Grzegorz Schetyna Sejm 2019.jpg Grzegorz Schetyna 26 January 2016–
29 January 2020
5. Borys Budka Sejm 2016.JPG Borys Budka 29 January 2020-
3 July 2021
6. Donald Tusk 2019.jpg Donald Tusk 3 July 2021
incumbent

Election results[]

Sejm[]

Election year Leader # of
votes 		% of
vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/– Government
2001 Maciej Płażyński 1,651,099 12.7 (#2)
65 / 460
 SLD-UP-PSL (2001-2003)
SLD-UP (2003-2005)
SLD-UP-SDPL (2004-2005)
2005 Donald Tusk 2,849,259 24.1 (#2)
133 / 460
 Increase 68 PiS Minority (2005)
PiS–SRP–LPR (2006-2007)
2007 Donald Tusk 6,701,010 41.5 (#1)
209 / 460
 Increase 76 PO–PSL
2011 Donald Tusk 5,629,773 39.2 (#1)
207 / 460
 Decrease 2 PO–PSL
2015 Ewa Kopacz 3,661,474 24.1 (#2)
138 / 460
 Decrease 69 PiS
2019 Grzegorz Schetyna 5,060,355 27.4 (#2)
119 / 460
 Decrease 19 PiS
As part of Civic Coalition, which won 134 seats in total.

Senate[]

Election year # of
overall seats won 		+/–
2001
2 / 100
As part of the Senate 2001 coalition, which won 15 seats.
2005
34 / 100
 Increase 32
2007
60 / 100
 Increase 26
2011
63 / 100
 Increase 3
2015
34 / 100
 Decrease 29
2019
43 / 100
 Increase 9

Presidential[]

Election year Candidate 1st round 2nd round
# of overall votes % of overall vote # of overall votes % of overall vote
2005 Donald Tusk 5,429,666 36.3 (#1) 7,022,319 46.0 (#2)
2010 Bronisław Komorowski 6,981,319 41.5 (#1) 8,933,887 53.0 (#1)
2015 Supported Bronisław Komorowski 5,031,060 33.8 (#2) 8,112,311 48.5 (#2)
2020 Rafał Trzaskowski 5,917,340 30.5 (#2) 10,018,263 48.9 (#2)

Regional assemblies[]

Election year % of
vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/–
2002 12.1 (#4)
79 / 561
In coalition with Law and Justice (POPiS).
2006 27.2 (#1)
186 / 561
2010 30.9 (#1)
222 / 561
 Increase 36
2014 26.3 (#2)
179 / 555
 Decrease 43
2018 27.1 (#2)
194 / 552
 Increase 15
As a Civic Coalition.

European Parliament[]

Election year # of
votes 		% of
vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/–
2004 1,467,775 24.1 (#1)
15 / 54
2009 3,271,852 44.4 (#1)
25 / 50
 Increase 10
2014 2,271,215 32.1 (#1)
19 / 51
 Decrease 6
2019 5,249 935 38,47 (#2)
14 / 51
 Decrease 5
As a European Coalition

Voivodeship Marshals[]

Name Image Voivodeship Date Vocation
Elżbieta Polak Elzbieta Polak.JPG Lubusz Voivodeship 29 November 2010
Marek Woźniak Marek Wozniak 546.JPG Greater Poland Voivodeship 10 October 2005
Piotr Całbecki Całbecki.JPG Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship 24 January 2006
Olgierd Geblewicz Olgierd Geblewicz fran Parliamentary Forum of the Southern Baltic Sea talar vid BSPC-s mote i Visby 2008-09-01.jpg West Pomeranian Voivodeship 7 December 2010
Mieczysław Struk (2010).JPG Pomeranian Voivodeship 22 February 2010
Andrzej Buła.jpg Opole Voivodeship 12 November 2013

Notable politicians[]

  • Bronisław Komorowski former President of Poland

  • Ewa Kopacz former Prime Minister of Poland

  • Donald Tusk former Prime Minister of Poland and President of the European Council, leader of European People's Party

  • Jerzy Buzek former President of the European Parliament and former Prime Minister of Poland

  • Grzegorz Schetyna former Minister of Foreign Affairs

  • Bogdan Borusewicz former Marshal of the Senate

  • Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz former Mayor of Warsaw

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Some sources have described PO as having shifted from the centre-right to the centre.[4]
  2. ^ Electoral coalition, 126 seats in total
  3. ^ Electoral coalition, 42 seats in total
  4. ^ The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej).

References[]

  1. ^ "Wniosek o udostępnienie informacji publicznej". Imgur. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b PO has often been described as centrist:
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b PO has often been described as centre-right:
  4. ^ Szczerbiak, Aleks (30 November 2016). "An anti-establishment backlash that shook up the party system? The October 2015 Polish parliamentary election". European Politics and Society. 18 (4): 404–427. doi:10.1080/23745118.2016.1256027. As discussed below, under Mr Tusk's leadership, Civic Platform turned from being a centre-right liberal-conservative party into an ideologically eclectic centrist grouping...
  5. ^ BBC News (2007-10-22): Massive win for Polish opposition
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Warsaw Business Journal Archived 20 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Elections 2011 - Election results". National Electoral Commission. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Pkw | Pkw". Pe2014.pkw.gov.pl. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Oficjalne wyniki wyborów samorządowych. Zobacz, kto wygrał". TVN24.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  10. ^ Jęczmionka, Paulina. "Oficjalne wyniki wyborów 2015: Bronisław Komorowski wziął Poznań i Wielkopolskę [INFOGRAFIKA]". Gloswielkopolski.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Wybory parlamentarne 2015. PKW podała ostateczne wyniki". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). 27 October 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Znamy wyniki wyborów! Relacja na żywo. Wybory samorządowe 2018". www.fakt.pl. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Oficjalne wyniki wyborów do europarlamentu". TVN24.pl. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  14. ^ Aleks Szczerbiak (2006). "Power without Love? Patterns of Party Politics in Post-1989 Poland". In Susanne Jungerstam-Mulders (ed.). Post-Communist EU Member States: Parties and Party Systems. London: Ashgate. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-7546-4712-6.
  15. ^ Vít Hloušek; Lubomír Kopeček (2010). Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared. Ashgate. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-7546-7840-3. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  16. ^ Hanley, Seán; Szczerbiak, Aleks; Haughton, Tim; Fowler, Brigid (July 2008). "Explaining Comparative Centre-Right Party Success in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe" (PDF). Party Politics. 14 (4): 407–434. doi:10.1177/1354068808090253. S2CID 16727049.
  17. ^ Seleny, Anna (July 2007). "Communism's Many Legacies in East-Central Europe". Journal of Democracy. 18 (3): 156–170. doi:10.1353/jod.2007.0056. S2CID 154971163.
  18. ^ Igor Guardiancich (2013). Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe: From Post-Socialist Transition to the Global Financial Crisis. Routledge. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-415-68898-7.
  19. ^ Jean-Michel De Waele; Anna Pacześniak (2012). "The Europeanisation of Poland's Political Parties and Party System". In Erol Külahci (ed.). Europeanisation and Party Politics: How the EU affects Domestic Actors, Patterns and Systems. ECPR Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-907301-84-1.
  20. ^ Florian Kellermann (4 February 2019). "Frühling" macht der linken Mitte Hoffnung. Deutschlandfunk.
  21. ^ Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 549. ISBN 9780313391828. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  22. ^ Mart Laar (2010). The Power of Freedom - Central and Eastern Europe after 1945. Unitas Foundation. p. 229. ISBN 978-9949-21-479-2.
  23. ^ Joanna A. Gorska (2012). Dealing with a Juggernaut: Analyzing Poland's Policy toward Russia, 1989-2009. Lexington Books. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7391-4534-0.
  24. ^ Bartek Pytlas (2016). Radical Right Parties in Central and Eastern Europe: Mainstream Party Competition and Electoral Fortune. Routledge. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-317-49586-4.
  25. ^ David Ost (2011). "The decline of civil society after 'post-communism'". In Ulrike Liebert; Hans-Jörg Trenz (eds.). The New Politics of European Civil Society. Routledge. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-415-57845-5.
  26. ^ Paul Kubicek (2017). European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-317-20638-5.
  27. ^ Tomasz Zarycki (2014). Ideologies of Eastness in Central and Eastern Europe. Routledge. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-317-81857-1.
  28. ^ José Magone (2010). Contemporary European Politics: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge. p. 457. ISBN 978-0-203-84639-1. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b Marjorie Castle (2015). "Poland". In M. Donald Hancock; Christopher J. Carman; Marjorie Castle; David P. Conradt; Raffaella Y. Nanetti; Robert Leonardi; William Safran; Stephen White (eds.). Politics in Europe. CQ Press. p. 636. ISBN 978-1-4833-2305-3.
  30. ^ "Explainer: Whatever happened to Polish liberal conservatives?". Polandin.
  31. ^ Ingo Peters (2011). 20 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Transitions, State Break-Up and Democratic Politics in Central Europe and Germany. BWV Verlag. p. 280. ISBN 978-3-8305-1975-1. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  32. ^ "Platforma Obywatelska przedstawia nowe stanowisko w sprawie aborcji". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). 18 February 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  33. ^ "Premier na Kongresie Kobiet: przeciw radykalnym rozwiązaniom". PolskieRadio24.pl. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  34. ^ "Rzeczpospolita". rp.pl. 8 March 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  35. ^ "ząd podwyższa akcyzę i zamraża płace". forsal.pl. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  36. ^ "Rząd zaciska pasa: zamraża pensje, podnosi akcyzę na papierosy i paliwa". wyborcza.biz. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  37. ^ "Dziś dowiemy się, dlaczego rząd zabierze nam ulgi". bankier.pl. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  38. ^ Sebastian Bobrowski (25 March 2014). "Zmiany w odliczaniu VAT od samochodów. Sprawdź ile i kiedy możesz odliczyć". mamstartup.pl. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  39. ^ "Głosowanie nad przyjęciem w całości projektu ustawy o zmianie niektórych ustaw związanych z realizacją ustawy budżetowej, w brzmieniu proponowanym przez Komisję Finansów Publicznych, wraz z przyjętymi poprawkami". sejm.gov.pl. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  40. ^ "Poland coal phase out pledged for 2040 by opposition government". Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  41. ^ "Trzaskowski: 500 plus musi być bronione". gazetaprawna.pl.
  42. ^ "Program Partii Platforma Obywatelska".
  43. ^ "Partie i kandydaci".

Sources[]

External links[]

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