Polish Socialist Party Polska Partia Socjalistyczna | |
|---|---|
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| Abbreviation | PPS |
| President | Wojciech Konieczny |
| Founded |
|
| Headquarters | al. Niepodległości 161 lok. 2 Warsaw |
| Youth wing | Young Socialists PPS[1] |
| Ideology | Democratic socialism[2] Anti-fascism[3] Polishpatriotism[4] Progressivism[5] Pro-Europeanism[6] |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| National affiliation | The Left |
| Colours | Red |
| Anthem | The Standard of Revolt |
| Sejm | 0 / 460 |
| Senate | 1 / 100 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 53 |
| Regional assemblies | 0 / 552 |
| City Presidents | 0 / 107 |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| ppspl.eu | |
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Related topics |
| Timeline ofPolishsocialist/social democraticparties after 1986 |
| •Polish Socialist Party (1987–) •Polish Social Democratic Union (1990–1992) •Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (1990–1999) •Democratic-Social Movement (1991–1992) •Labour Union (1992–) •National Party of Retirees and Pensioners (1994–) •Democratic Left Alliance (1999–2021) •Reason Party (2002–2013) •Social Democracy of Poland (2004–) •Freedom and Equality (2005–) •Polish Left (2008–) •Razem (2015–) •Spring (2019–2021) •New Left (2021–) |
ThePolish Socialist Party (Polish:Polska Partia Socjalistyczna,PPS) is ademocratic socialistpolitical party in Poland.[2]
It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communistPolish Workers' Party to form thePolish United Workers' Party in 1948.Józef Piłsudski, founder of theSecond Polish Republic, was a member of and later led the PPS in the early 20th century.
The party was re-established in 1987, near the end of thePolish People's Republic. However, it remained on the margins of Polish politics until 2019, when it won a seat in theSenate of Poland.
The Polish Socialist Party (PPS) was founded in Paris in 1892, during the period known as theGreat Emigration. In 1893, a faction called theSocial Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL) split from the PPS. The PPS focused more on nationalism and Polish independence, while the SDKPiL adopted a far-left (Marxist), internationalist stance. In November 1892, key members of the PPS developed a political program that, for its time, was notably progressive. The program called for an independent Republic of Poland founded on democratic principles, direct universal voting rights, equal rights for all citizens regardless of religion or gender, freedom of the press, speech, and assembly, progressive taxation, an eight-hour workday, a minimum wage, equal pay for men and women, a ban on child labor (under age 14), free education, and social support for workers injured on the job.[7]
After theRevolution of 1905 in theRussian Empire, the party membership drastically increased from several hundred active members to a mass movement of about 60,000 members.[8] Another split in the party occurred in 1906, with theRevolutionary Faction followingJózef Piłsudski, who supported the nationalist and independence ideals, and theLeft faction which allied itself with the SDKPiL. However, the Revolutionary Faction became dominant and renamed itself back again to the PPS, while the Left was eclipsed, and in 1918 merged with SDKPiL forming theCommunist Party of Poland. In 1917-18 the party participated in theCentral Council of Ukraine and theGovernment of Ukraine.
During theSecond Polish Republic, the PPS at first supportedJózef Piłsudski (himself a former Socialist), including hisMay Coup, but later moved into the opposition to his authoritarianSanacja regime by joining the democratic 'centrolew' (center-left) opposition movement. Many PPS leaders and members were put ontrial by Piłsudski's regime and jailed in the infamousBereza Kartuska prison.
The party was a member of theLabour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.[9]
The party supported thePolish resistance duringWorld War II as the undergroundPolish Socialist Party – Freedom, Equality, Independence (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna – Wolność, Równość, Niepodległość). In 1948 it suffered a fatal split, as theCommunists applied thesalami tactics to dismember any opposition. One faction, which includedEdward Osóbka-Morawski wanted to join forces with thePolish Peasant Party and form a united front against the Communists. Another faction, led byJózef Cyrankiewicz, argued that theSocialists should support the Communists in carrying through a socialist program while opposing the imposition of one-party rule. Pre-war political hostilities continued to influence events, andStanisław Mikołajczyk, leader of the Peasant Party, would not agree to form a united front with the Socialists.[citation needed] The Communists played on these divisions by dismissing Osóbka-Morawski and making Cyrankiewicz the Prime Minister.
In 1948, Cyrankiewicz's faction ofSocialists merged with the CommunistPolish Workers' Party (PPR) to form thePolish United Workers' Party (Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; PZPR), the ruling party in thePolish People's Republic; remnants of the other faction survived on emigration in thePolish government-in-exile and because of that Polish Socialist Party was still active on emigration. Cyrankiewicz's faction isn't really treated as proper PPS.
A new party sharing the same name, aiming to continue the legacy of the original PPS, was founded in 1987 by left-wing opposition figures likeJan Józef Lipski. However, the modern PPS has remained a marginal force in the political landscape of theThird Republic of Poland, holding representation in theSejm only from 1993 to 2001, due to the lingering stigma of communism associated with Soviet occupation. In the2019 Polish parliamentary election, the PPS experienced a resurgence with its leaderWojciech Konieczny being elected to theSenate of Poland as part ofThe Left.[10] Subsequently, other members of both the Sejm and Senate joined the PPS, which now has two deputies and two senators.
Its main propaganda outlet was theRobotnik ('The Worker') newspaper. The current party published theNowy Robotnik ("The New Worker"), a continuation of the original publication, from 2003 to 2006.
On 16 November 2020, the party founded its first foreign branch in theUnited Kingdom, in the city ofCoventry,[11] home to aBritish Polish population founded byPolish Army Exiles.[12]
On the 25 June 2022, factions of the party formed an alliance withSocial Democracy of Poland,Freedom and Equality,Labour Union andPolish Left to compete in thenext Polish parliamentary election. The alliance also included theFeminist Initiative, theDemocratic Left Association (SLD), and the Working People's Movement.[13] In February 2023, after an internal conflict,[14] PPS, together with theLabour Union, re-joinedThe Left.[15]
Historically, the party advocated for a blend ofsocialism andnationalism,[16][17] and was generally considered to be a left-wing party on the political spectrum.[18][19] The party opposedBolshevism and aligned more with theMensheviks.[20] In recent years, the party has identified as ademocratic socialist movement, with its parliamentary leaderWojciech Konieczny describing it as a leftist party with a strong emphasis on democracy.[21] As a modern party, it distanced itself from anti-clericalism, declaring that it does not wish to wage "war against God", accepting the concordat between Poland and Vatican, along with the position of the Catholic Church in Polish society.[22]
| Second Polish Republic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| 1922 | Ignacy Daszyński | 49 | 9.1(#5) | 1 | 0.2(#5) |
| 1926 | SupportedJózef Piłsudski[note 1] | 292 | 60.2(#1) | ||
| 1926 | Zygmunt Marek | 56 | 11.6(#3) | 1 | 0.2(#3) |
| Third Polish Republic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| 1995 | Supported Tadeusz Zieliński | 631,432 | 3.5(#6) | ||
| 2000 | Piotr Ikonowicz | 38,672 | 0.2(#10) | ||
| 2005 | SupportedDaniel Podrzycki[note 2] | ||||
| 2020 | SupportedRobert Biedroń | 432,129 | 2.2(#6) | ||
| 2025 | SupportedMagdalena Biejat | 829,361 | 4.23(#7) | ||
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | 515,062 | 9.2(#4) | 35 / 394 | New | Coalition(1919) |
| Opposition(1919-1920) | |||||
| Coalition(1920-1921) | |||||
| Opposition(1921-1922) | |||||
| 1922 | 906,537 | 10.3(#5) | 41 / 444 |  6 | Opposition(1922-1925) |
| Coalition(1925-1926) | |||||
| Opposition(1926) | |||||
| Coalition(1926-1928) | |||||
| 1928 | 1,482,097 | 13.0(#2) | 64 / 444 | 23 | Opposition |
| 1930 | 1,965,864 | 17.3(#2) | 23 / 444 |  41 | Opposition |
| As part of theCentrolew coalition, that won 79 seats in total. | |||||
| 1935 | Boycotted | 0 / 206 | 23 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1938 | Boycotted | 0 / 208 |  0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1947 | 9,003,682 | 26.13 (#1) | 116 / 444 | 116 | Coalition |
| As part of theDemocratic Bloc coalition, that won 394 seats in total.[note 3] | |||||
| 1991 | 230,975 | 2.1(#13) | 0 / 460 | 116 | Extra-parliamentary |
| As part of theLabour Solidarity coalition, that won 4 seats in total. | |||||
| 1993 | 2,815,169 | 20.4(#1) | 4 / 460 | 4 | Coalition |
| As part of theDemocratic Left Alliance coalition, that won 171 seats in total. | |||||
| 1997 | 3,551,224 | 27.1(#2) | 3 / 460 | 1 | Opposition |
| As part of theDemocratic Left Alliance coalition, that won 164 seats in total. | |||||
| 2001 | 13,459 | 0.1(#11) | 0 / 460 | 3 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2005 | 91,266 | 0.8(#11) | 0 / 460 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| As part of thePolish Labour Party committee, that won no seats. | |||||
| 2007 | 160,476 | 1.0(#7) | 0 / 460 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| As part of thePolish Labour Party committee, that won no seats. | |||||
| 2015 | 1,147,102 | 7.6(#5) | 0 / 460 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| As part of theUnited Left coalition, that won no seats. | |||||
| 2019 | 2,319,946 | 12.6(#3) | 0 / 460 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| As part ofThe Left coalition, that won 49 seats in total. | |||||
| 2023 | 1,859,018 | 8.6(#4) | 0 / 460 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| As part ofThe Left coalition, that won 26 seats in total. | |||||
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | 468,147 | 8.4(#5) | 7 / 111 | n/a |
| 1928 | 715,556 | 11.2(#3) | 10 / 111 | 3 |
| 1930 | As part ofCentrolew coalition, that won 13 seats in total. | |||
| 1935 | Boycotted | |||
| 1938 | Boycotted | |||
| 1993 | 4,993,061 | 35.7(#1) | 1 / 100 | 1 |
| As part of theDemocratic Left Alliance coalition, that won 37 seats in total. | ||||
| 1997 | 6,091,721 | 45.7(#2) | 3 / 100 | 2 |
| As part of theDemocratic Left Alliance coalition, that won 28 seats in total. | ||||
| 2001 | 131,987 | 0.5(#11) | 0 / 100 | 3 |
| 2019 | 415,745 | 2.3(#4) | 1 / 100 | 1 |
| As part ofThe Left coalition, that won 2 seats in total. | ||||
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 48,667 | 0.80 (#12) | 0 / 54 | New | – |
| As part of theKPEiR-PLD coalition, that won no seats. | |||||
| 2009 | 1,331 | 0.02 (#12) | 0 / 50 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | Did not contest | 0 / 50 | 0 | – | |
| 2019 | Did not contest | 0 / 50 | 0 | – | |
| 2024 | 741,071 | 6.30 (#5) | 0 / 50 | 0 | – |
| As part ofThe Left coalition, that won 3 seats in total. | |||||
Działacze organizacji młodzieżowej Polskiej Partii Socjalistycznej – Młodych Socjalistów PPS – z całej Polski zebrali się w sobotę 24 sierpnia 2024 r. w Warszawie, aby podsumować dotychczasowe działania oraz przedyskutować najważniejsze wyzwania ruchu robotniczego i młodzieży socjalistycznej na 2024 i 2025 rok.[Activists from the youth organisation of the Polish Socialist Party – Young Socialists PPS – gathered from all over Poland in Warsaw on Saturday, 24 August 2024, to summarise their activities to date and discuss the most important challenges facing the labour movement and socialist youth in 2024 and 2025.]
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