Civic Coalition (Poland)

The Civic Coalition (Koalicja Obywatelska, KO) is a catch-all political alliance currently ruling in Poland. The alliance was formed around Civic Platform in opposition to the then-ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

History
The Civic Coalition was originally created by the Civic Platform and Modern parties for 2018 local elections. In June 2019, it was announced that the Civic Coalition would be slated to participate in the 2019 Polish parliamentary election and Civic Platform and Modern will form a joint parliamentary club. The Greens announced at the end of July 2019 that they will participate in the elections as part of the Coalition. In August 2019, the Silesian Autonomy Movement and other member organisations of the Silesian Electoral Agreement joined the Coalition.

2018 local elections and present
In the 2018 local elections, the Civic Coalition received 26.97% of votes (second place after Law and Justice), winning 194 seats. In 8 voivodeships, it obtained the best result, and in the Pomerania the majority of seats. The coalition fared worse in the powiat and mayoral election. In the first round of 11 candidates of the Civic Coalition won elections for mayors of cities (including Rafał Trzaskowski in Warsaw). In addition, 15 candidates of the Civic Coalition went through to the second round, of which 8 were elected. Candidates of Civic Coalition were elected presidents of 19 cities, while it was placed second to the national-conservative Law and Justice in four.

The committee has shown stronger electoral performances in large cities, such as, Warsaw, Poznań, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Łódź, and Kraków. Better than average results were achieved in West and North Poland (Recovered Territories). In the Opole Voivodeship, Civic Coalition received high support among the German minority. However, it has weaker support in the villages and in the conservative eastern Poland.

In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the Coalition received most of its votes in major cities (as in 2018 local elections) and areas surrounding them. For the 2019 election, the coalition entered an agreement with Silesian Regional Party and Silesian Autonomy Movement, and activists and politicians associated with these Silesian parties were included on the Civic Coalition's electoral lists. The electoral pact between the Civic Coalition and Silesian regionalists declared three demands – the strengthening of regional government, an increase in the share of tax revenues allocated to local governments, and the recognition of Silesian language as a regional language.

Civic Platform already cooperated with Silesian Autonomy Movement on local level – in 2015, both parties entered a local coalition in the Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik. In March 2023, Civic Coalition again pledged to recognize Silesian as a regional language.

After exit polls for the 2023 parliamentary elections showed KO having taken a strong enough second place finish to oust the ruling Law and Justice party, KO leader Donald Tusk said, "I have been a politician for many years. I'm an athlete. Never in my life have I been so happy about taking seemingly second place. Poland won. Democracy has won."

Ideology
The Civic Coalition is a catch-all coalition, that is made up of political parties that occupy political positions from the centre-left to the centre-right. Media and academics have also described the coalition as centre-left, centrist, and centre-right. It was described as centre-right by The Guardian, Euractiv, EUobserver, The Telegraph, Heinrich Böll Foundation, and the Financial Times during the 2023 Polish parliamentary election. The coalition's positions on social issues range from progressivism to Christian democracy. It is mainly oriented towards the principles of liberal conservatism and liberalism, and it aims to protect liberal democracy in Poland. The coalition was also described as anti-immigration, mostly because of the rhetoric of its dominating party, centre-right Civic Platform. The coalition also supports Poland's membership in the European Union and NATO.