Solidarity Electoral Action ( pl, Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność, AWS) was a political coalition 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 ...

from 1996 to 2001. From 1997 to 2001, its official name was ''Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy'' (AWSP) or Electoral Action Solidarity of the Right. AWS (RS AWS), or the Social Movement for Electoral Action Solidarity, the political arm of the Solidarity trade union from 1997 to 2004, was formerly the leading party within AWS.

Background

AWS was formed in 1996 as a coalition of over 30 parties, uniting liberal,

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and Christian-democratic forces. Marian Krzaklewski was its first chairman. In 1997 the coalition was joined by RS AWS, and by the Freedom Union.

Jerzy Buzek Jerzy Karol Buzek (born 3 July 1940) is a Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament from Poland. He has served as Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001, since being elected to the European Parliament in 2004, he served as ...

of RS AWS became

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

. The

International Republican Institute The International Republican Institute (IRI) is an American nonprofit organization. Most of its board is drawn from the Republican Party. It is committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide by helping political parties to become more issu ...

, a US federal government-funded organisation loosely associated with the

United States Republican Party The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...

, claims credit for having played a major role in uniting the different political parties which came together to create the AWS. It claims to have provided training in political campaigning, communications training and research which helped organise and create the AWS. It also states that once the AWS was in government, it organised an advertising campaign for the Polish government in order to stop the AWS splitting up over internal tensions:

IRI initiated a post-election program that emphasized media and communications training for Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek's chancellory and cabinet.

Reforms relating to domestic affairs, the entry to

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 N ...

in 1999 and the accession process to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

led to conflicts within the coalition, with many members moving to the more liberal

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 ...

, the right-wing

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( pl, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość , PiS) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Poland. Its chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński. It was founded in 2001 by Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński as a direct s ...

party, or the

Movement for Reconstruction of Poland Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland ( pl, Ruch Odbudowy Polski, ROP) was a conservative political party in Poland. It participated in the 1997 parliamentary election for the Sejm, where it received 5.6% of the vote, electing six represent ...

. By 2001, the number of parties in the alliance was reduced to three including RS AWS. AWS formed a minority government under Jerzy Buzek, and the coalition was renamed AWSP (''Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy'' – "Solidarity of the Right" Electoral Action), while RS AWS became simply RS. In the 2001 elections, AWSP (including RS) did not obtain enough votes to enter Parliament and became defunct. AWSP former leader

is now a member of the

Election results

Sejm

Senate

Presidential

Regional assemblies

References

{{Authority control 1996 establishments in Poland 2001 disestablishments in Poland Christian democratic parties in Europe Conservative parties in Poland Defunct Christian political parties Defunct conservative parties Defunct political party alliances in Poland International Republican Institute Political parties disestablished in 2001 Political parties established in 1996 Solidarity (Polish trade union)