Social Democracy of Poland

The Social Democracy of Poland (Polish: Socjaldemokracja Polska, SDPL) is a social-democratic[1][2] political party in Poland.

Not to be confused with Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland.

Social Democracy of Poland
Socjaldemokracja Polska
LeaderWojciech Filemonowicz
Founded26 March 2004
Split fromDemocratic Left Alliance
Headquartersul. Mokotowska 29 A, 00–560 Warsaw
IdeologySocial democracy
Political positionCentre-left
National affiliationSDPL–UP–Greens 2004 (2004)
Left and Democrats (2006–2008)
European Coalition (2019)
Civic Coalition (2019)
Democratic Left (2022–)
The Left (2023–)
European Parliament groupParty of European Socialists (2004–2009)
Colours  Red
Sejm
0 / 460
Senate
0 / 100
European Parliament
0 / 51
Regional assemblies
0 / 555
Website
www.sdpl.pl

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 (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 party gained 5.3%, which saw three members elected to parliament. In May 2005 the party reached an agreement with Labour Union (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 (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 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 stated an ambition to form an electoral alliance between the two parties to contest the European elections in 2014.[3][4] The alliance was named Europa Plus. The SDPL withdrew from the alliance, along with the Union of the Left, on 7 February 2014.[5]

Election results

Sejm
Election year # of
votes		  % of
vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Government
2005 459,380 3.9 (#7)
0 / 460
 Decrease 32[6] Extra-parliamentary
In an electoral alliance with Labour United and Greens 2004.
2007 2,122,981 13.2 (#3)
10 / 460
 Increase10 Opposition
As part of the Left and Democrats coalition, which won 53 seats in total.
2011 5,629,773 39.2 (#1)
0 / 460
 Decrease10 Extra-parliamentary
In coalition with Civic Platform.
2015 1,147,102 7.6 (#5)
0 / 460
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
As part of United Left, which won no seat.
2019 5,060,355 27.4 (#2)
0 / 460
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
As part of Civic Coalition, which won 134 seats in total.
2023 1,859,018 8.6 (#4)
0 / 460
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
As part of The Left, which won 26 seats in total.

Senate
Election year # of
overall seats won		 +/–
2005
0 / 100
 Decrease 10[7]
2007
0 / 100
 Steady
2011
2 / 100
 Increase 1
2015
1 / 100
 Steady

Presidential
Election year Candidate 1st round 2nd round
# of overall votes  % of overall vote # of overall votes  % of overall vote
2005 Marek Borowski 1,544,642 10.3 (#4)

European Parliament
Election year # of
votes		  % of
vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/–
2004 324,707 5.3 (#8)
3 / 54
 Increase 3
2009 179,602 2.4 (#5)
0 / 50
 Decrease 3
As part of the Agreement for the Future – CenterLeft coalition.

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, was elected to the Polish Senate in the 2011 elections as an independent candidate. He retained his membership of SDPL.

References
  1. Dimitri Almeida (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. CRC Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-136-34039-0.
  2. José Magone (2010). Contemporary European Politics: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge. p. 457. ISBN 978-0-203-84639-1.
  3. "The Warsaw Voice". Warsawvoice.pl. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  4. "Palikot: RP i SdPL razem do europarlamentu". Tvn24.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Sejm parliamentary groups". Sejm.pl. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  7. "Senate parliamentary groups". Senat.pl. Senat.pl. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
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