KArtu (English: ''Together''), known by the full name KArtu. Left Alliance () is a unregistered

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

political party in Lithuania founded on 1 May 2024. It was originally formed as a non-partisan political movement in 2022.

History

The Left Alliance was founded in 2022 with a

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

by over twenty political figures, including cultural figures, artists, and members of both the

Social Democratic Party of Lithuania The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (, LSDP) is a centre-left and social democratic political party in Lithuania. Founded as an underground Marxist organisation in 1896, it is the oldest extant party in Lithuania. During the time of the ...

and the

Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union The Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (, LVŽS)The party is also known as Lithuanian Peasant and Greens Union. is a green-conservative and agrarian political party in Lithuania led by Ramūnas Karbauskis. The party is considered one of t ...

. In its manifesto, the Left Alliance claimed that Lithuanian politics lack a "progressive left-wing party" and attacked the Social Democrats for insufficient allegiance to their

party program A political party platform (American English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British and often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principal goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, t ...

and betrayal of left-wing values. One of the founders of the movement, , had been involved in activism for an "alternative left" since 2007, in which he was the main ideologue and a founder of the short-lived (English: ''New Left 95''). In February 2022, it organized a picket in support of the ongoing strike in the chemical plant

Achema Achema is the largest fertilizer producer in the Baltic states. It is headquartered in Jonava, central Lithuania. Its factory is located in the village of Jonalaukis by Jonava, near the confluence of rivers Neris and Šventoji. In 2011, Achem ...

. In light of ongoing political discussion regarding the promulgation of

same-sex partnerships A domestic partnership is an intimate relationship between people, usually couples, who live together and share a common domestic life but who are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive legal ben ...

law in Lithuania, it spoke out in favor of immediate legalization of same-sex partnerships. On 12 January 2024, it became a founding member of the

Central-Eastern European Green Left Alliance The Central-Eastern European Green Left Alliance (CEEGLA) is a left-wing and green European political alliance gathering organisations and parties from Central and Eastern Europe. It was officially launched on 12 January 2024 in Warsaw. The ini ...

(CEEGLA) alongside

Left Together (, meaning 'Together Party') is a Left-wing politics, left-wing list of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. It was founded in 2015, and from 2019 to 2024 the party's official name was (, 'Left Together'). The party was one ...

Democracy and Solidarity Party The Democracy and Solidarity Party (), also known by its abbreviation and short name Demos, is a political party of Romania. It was founded in 2018 (with roots going back to 2015), and holds a left-wing position. History The Democracy and So ...

Budoucnost Budoucnost () is a left-wing political movement in the Czech Republic, founded in May 2020. It is co-led by Jakub Kovařík and Klára Školníková. History The movement was registered in May 2020. Part of its preparatory committee consisted o ...

Social Movement A social movement is either a loosely or carefully organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a Social issue, social or Political movement, political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to re ...

and the

Spark Movement Spark commonly refers to: * Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember * Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge Spark may also refer to: People * Spark (surname) * Jessica Morgan (born 1992; formerly known as Spark), female singe ...

. On 1 May 2024, the party was founded in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Jolanta Bielskienė Jolanta (or Jolantha) is a Czech, Lithuanian, Polish and Slovak form of the Greek name Iolanthe (disambiguation), Iolanthe. It is derived from Greek words ιολη (iole) "violet" and ανθος (anthos) "flower". Similar names also derived from I ...

, former member of the Social Democratic Party, was elected as its chairwoman. , it hasn't achieved formal registration with the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and is unable to stand in any elections in the country.

Platform

KArtu is a

party and presents itself as "an alternative to the dominant, purely right-wing politics and doctrine of

neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...

capitalism". It supports shortening the

work week The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week, devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most o ...

, first to 32 hours and later to 28 hours, encouraging the expansion of trade unions, progressive taxes on corporations, businesses and high-income landlords, reducing food prices, regulating the housing market by setting rent caps, and expanding

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

in Lithuania. It promotes the creation of

economic democracy Economic democracy (sometimes called a democratic economy) is a socioeconomic philosophy that proposes to shift ownership and decision-making power from corporate shareholders and corporate managers (such as a board of directors) to a larger ...

by promoting

worker cooperatives A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which management is elected by ...

instead of private ownership. It supports Lithuania's membership in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and 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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and the strengthening of national defense. It supports

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

and, alongside the Trade Union "May 1st", agitates for debt forgiveness to Ukraine, as well as harsher sanctions and support to the labor movement in Ukraine. It condemns

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's actions against

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

and supports a

two-state solution The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. It is often contrasted with the one-state solution, which is the esta ...

based on the 1967 borders.

References

{{Lithuanian political parties 2022 establishments in Lithuania Democratic socialist parties in Europe Eco-socialist parties Organizations established in 2022 Political parties established in 2024 Political parties in Lithuania Pro-European political parties in Lithuania Progressive parties Socialist parties in Lithuania