Włodzimierz Czarzasty

Włodzimierz Czarzasty (born 3 May 1960[1][2]) is a Polish politician who serves as the co-chairperson of the New Left party (Nowa Lewica).[3]

Włodzimierz Czarzasty
Czarzasty in 2019
Deputy Marshal of the Sejm
Assumed office
12 November 2019
Member of the Sejm
Assumed office
12 November 2019
Leader of Democratic Left Alliance
Assumed office
23 January 2016
Preceded byLeszek Miller
Personal details
Born (1960-05-03) 3 May 1960
Warsaw, Poland
CitizenshipPolish
Political partyNew Left
Other political
affiliations		PZPR (1983–1990)
SLD (1990–2020)
ZL (2015–2016)
Alma materUniversity of Warsaw
OccupationPolitician

Biography

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Czarzasty graduated with degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Warsaw in the 1980s. Simultaneously, he was a member of Polish Students' Association (ZSP), leader of association "Ordynacka", and a member of Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) from 1983 to 1990.[4]

Following the fall of Communism, Czarzasty became a member of SLD, the successor of PZPR. In the 1997 general election, he ran for the SLD but lost.[5] In May 1999, he was appointed to the National Council of Radio Broadcasting and Television by the President Aleksander Kwasniewski. He became a point of controversy during the Rywin corruption scandal, but he was not formally charged with any crime.[6]

After a long extra-parliamentary career, Czarzasty ran as part of United Left (ZL) party in the 2015 election. Since ZL has not passed the 8% threshold required to hold seats in the Sejm, none of the candidates, including Czarzasty, won.[7]

During the party leadership election in January 2016, Czarzasty defeated former MP Jerzy Wenderlich and was elected as the new president of Democratic Left Alliance,[8] replacing the incumbent leader and former Prime Minister Leszek Miller. He was a candidate for the Masovian Regional Assembly during the local elections in 2018, but lost.[9]

Sejm
Włodzimierz Czarzasty and Grzegorz Schetyna (2019)

In the 2019 parliamentary election, Czarzasty co-led the Lewica coalition, together with Adrian Zandberg and Robert Biedroń, and was elected to the Sejm. He was a candidate from Sosnowiec constituency. On 12 November 2019, Czarzasty was elected Deputy Marshal of the Sejm in representation of Lewica.

In July 2021, Czarzasty suspended the party member rights of Karolina Pawliczak and five other New Left MPs after they disagreed with him and made their disagreement public.[10] The suspended politicians sent a letter to Czarzasty in which they questioned the fact that certain political commitments were made on behalf of the party, and allowed their letter to be public.[10] Czarzasty accused them of an action grossly violating the obligation to care for the good name of the party.[10] Pawliczak said: "Democracy, not bullying; talking, not suspending and expelling from the party ... I want to continue building such a democratic party with my friends."[10]

Electoral history
Sejm
Election Party Votes % Constituency Elected?
1997 Democratic Left Alliance 4,890[11] 3.05 Zamość No
2015 United Left 13,156 [12] 4.38 Płock No
2019 Democratic Left Alliance 31,244 [13] 9.31 Katowice Yes

References
  1. "Włodzimierz Czarzasty". ktokogo.pl. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. "Powołanie nowego członka KRRiTV". prezydent.pl. 10 May 1999. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  3. "Włodzimierz Czarzasty i Robert Biedroń współprzewodniczącymi Nowej Lewicy". TVN24 (in Polish). Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  4. "Włodzimierz Czarzasty". sld.org.pl. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  5. M.P. z 1997 r. Nr 64, poz. 620
  6. "Załącznik do Uchwały Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 24 września 2004 r." (PDF). sejm.gov.pl. p. 42. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  7. "Serwis PKW – Wybory 2015". Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  8. "Włodzimierz Czarzasty nowym przewodniczącym SLD". sld.org.pl. 23 January 2016. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  9. "Serwis PKW – Wybory 2018". Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  10. Hypki, Bartłomiej (18 July 2021). "Sześcioro posłów Lewicy zawieszonych. Wśród nich jest Karolina Pawliczak". Pleszew Nasze Miasto.
  11. "Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 25 września 1997 r. o wynikach wyborów do Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej przeprowadzonych w dniu 21 września 1997 r." (PDF). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  12. "PKW. KKW Zjednoczona Lewica SLD+TR+PPS+UP+Zieloni". Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  13. "Wyniki wyborów 2019 do Sejmu RP. KOMITET WYBORCZY SOJUSZ LEWICY DEMOKRATYCZNEJ". Retrieved 29 December 2022.
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