The Civic Coalition ( pl, Koalicja Obywatelska, KO)) is a catch-all political alliance in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. The alliance was formed around

Civic Platform Civic Platform ( pl, Platforma Obywatelska, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk. It ...

in opposition to the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. The coalition's name uses a play on words with ''Ja Obywatel'', which translates to "I, Citizen".

History

The Civic Coalition was originally created by the

and

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

parties for 2018 local elections. In June 2019, it was announced that the Civic Coalition would be slated to participate in the

2019 Polish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 13 October 2019. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) retained its majority in the Sejm, but lost its majority in the Senate to the ...

and Civic Platform and Modern will form a joint parliamentary club.

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' *Greens of Andorra * Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina *Greens of Burkina * Greens (Greece) * Greens of Montenegro *Greens of Serbia *Gree ...

announced at the end of July 2019 that they will participate in the elections as part of the Coalition. In August 2019, the

Silesian Autonomy Movement The Silesian Autonomy Movement ( szl, Ruch Autōnōmije Ślōnska, pl, Ruch Autonomii Śląska, german: Bewegung für die Autonomie Schlesiens), abbreviated as RAŚ, is a movement officially declaring its support for the autonomy of Silesia as pa ...

and other member organisations of the Silesian Electoral Agreement joined the Coalition.

2018 local elections and present

In the 2018 local elections, the Civic Coalition received 26.97% of votes (second place after Law and Justice), winning 194 seats. In 8

voivodships A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

, it obtained the best result, and in the

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

the majority of seats. The coalition fared worse in the powiat and mayoral election. In the first round of 11 candidates of the Civic Coalition won elections for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

s of

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

(including

Rafał Trzaskowski Rafał Kazimierz Trzaskowski (; born 17 January 1972) is a Polish politician and the current city mayor of Warsaw. He is also a political scientist specializing in European studies. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (2009–2013) ...

in Warsaw). In addition, 15 candidates of the Civic Coalition went through to the second round, of which 8 were elected. Candidates of Civic Coalition were elected presidents of 19 cities, while it was placed second to the

national-conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, ...

Law and Justice in 4. The committee has shown stronger electoral performances in large cities, such as,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

, Gdańsk,

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

, and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. Better than average results were achieved in

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

Poland (

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...

). In the

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship, or Opole Province ( pl, województwo opolskie ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Upper Si ...

, Civic Coalition received high support among the German minority. However, it has weaker support in the villages and in the conservative

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

ern Poland. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the Coalition received most of its votes in major cities (as in 2018 local elections) and areas surrounding them.

Ideology

The Civic Coalition is a catch-all coalition, that is made up of political parties that occupy political positions from the

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

to the

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

, although media and academics have also described the coalition as

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...

, and

. It is mainly orientated towards the principles of

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

, and it aims to protect

liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...

in Poland. It supports Poland's membership in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Composition

Electoral performance

Sejm

Senate

Presidential

2018 local

Wybory samorządowe 2018 Sejmiki województw mapa

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2018 establishments in Poland Christian democratic parties in Europe Conservative parties in Poland Liberal parties in Poland Political parties established in 2018 Political party alliances in Poland