The Social Democracy of Poland (, SDPL) is a

social-democratic Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, socia ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Foundation

The party was founded in April 2004 as a splinter group from the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). The SDPL should not be confused with a former party the

Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

(SdRP) which existed between 1990–99 and was a direct predecessor of the SLD.

First elections

SDPL contested its first elections in June 2004, this being for Polish representation to the

European parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. The party gained 5.3%, which saw three members elected to parliament. In May 2005 the party reached an agreement with

Labour Union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

(UP) and Greens 2004 to jointly contest for the forthcoming Polish parliamentary elections, under the SDPL banner. SDPL managed to gain 3.9% of the vote, but fell short of the 5% threshold required to win parliamentary representation. SDPL put forward its party leader Marek Borowski, as candidate for the Polish presidential elections held in the following month of October. Borowski came fourth in the first round, winning 10.3% of the vote.

Coalition within LiD

On 3 September 2006, SDPL joined the newly formed

Left and Democrats Left and Democrats (, LiD) was a centre-left electoral alliance of List of political parties in Poland, political parties in Poland which was created on 3 September 2006, before the Warsaw municipal election of 2006. The coalition's aim was ...

(LiD) coalition, made up of the centre-left parties SDPL, SLD, UP and the centrist Democratic Party – demokraci.pl. This alliance was created with a view to jointly contest the upcoming local government elections. The LiD alliance was maintained for the Polish parliamentary elections of October 2007, and LiD achieved 13.2% of the vote. This translated into 53

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

seats, 10 of which were won by SDPL. After LiD dissolved, 8 out of 10 SDPL MPs formed a new parliamentary caucus called ''Social Democracy of Poland – New Left'' (''Socjaldemoracja Polska – Nowa Lewica'', SDPL-NL). On 3 February 2013, SDPL leader Wojciech Filemonowicz and Palikot's Movement leader

Janusz Palikot Janusz Marian Palikot (; born 26 October 1964) is a Polish politician, activist and businessman. Palikot studied philosophy and became wealthy as a businessman who dealt with crates and distilled beverages. He was elected to Sejm on 25 Septembe ...

stated an ambition to form an

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

between the two parties to contest the European elections in 2014. The alliance was named Europa Plus. The SDPL withdrew from the alliance, along with the Union of the Left, on 7 February 2014.

Election results

Sejm

Senate

Presidential

European Parliament

Elected representatives

Members of the Sejm

Prior to the October, 2011, Polish parliamentary election, where the party's representation was wiped out, SDPL had three members of the Sejm: * Marek Borowski ( 19 – Warsaw I) * Grażyna Ciemniak ( 4 – Bydgoszcz) * Izabella Sierakowska ( 6 – Lublin) Marek Borowski, was elected to the Polish Senate in the 2011 elections as an independent candidate. He retained his membership of SDPL.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Social Democracy Of Poland 2004 establishments in Poland Parties related to the Party of European Socialists Political parties established in 2004 Political parties in Poland Social democratic parties in Poland