Polish Initiative

The association Polish Initiative was created on February 20, 2016,[1] by Barbara Nowacka, a former member of the Your Movement and the United Left electoral alliance for the 2015 parliamentary election.[2] It was registered as a political party in 2019.[3]

In 2018, the Initiative joined the Civic Coalition for the local elections. Two of its candidates were elected to the Voivodeship sejmiks.

The association joined the European Coalition for the 2019 European Parliament election.[4] However, because of being in the process of the registration as a political party, its members did not compete in the election.[5]

The party joined the Civic Coalition for the 2019 parliamentary election. Two of the party candidates, including its leader Barbara Nowacka and two candidates recommended by the party, were elected to the Sejm. The Coalition won 134 in total, losing to the ruling party Law and Justice.[6]

The Polish Initiative supported the Civic Coalition's candidate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska in the 2020 presidential election. Later, the Polish Initiative announced that it would as a party not take part in the election on 10 May, due to change of electoral rules because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] However, after the election was moved it supported Rafał Trzaskowski, who became the Civic Coalition's candidate after the resignation of Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska. Trzaskowski later lost in the second round to the incumbent Andrzej Duda.[8]

The Polish Initiative is a progressive,[9] social liberal,[10] and social-democratic party.[11] It sits on the centre-left[12] to left-wing on the political spectrum.[13]

The party supports the decentralisation of power and increasing the power of local governments. It also supports European integration. On social issues, it is against any forms of discrimination, with an emphasis on gender discrimination. The party also advocates for the separation of church and state.[14] The party also supports increasing the funding of the Polish healthcare system.[2]

Leader

• Barbara Nowacka

Secretary

• Tomasz Sybilski

Treasurer

• Katarzyna Osowiecka

Other members

• Anna Uzdowska-Gacek
• Barbara Starska
• Dariusz Joński
• Szymon Wiłnicki
• Adam Ostaszewski
• Mateusz Rambacher
• Arkadiusz Dzierżyński