Now! (political party)

Last updated

Now!
Teraz!
Leader Ryszard Petru
Founder Ryszard Petru
Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus
Founded17 November 2018 (2018-11-17)
Dissolved4 July 2019
Split from .Modern
HeadquartersWilliam Heerlein Lindley street, Warsaw
Ideology Liberalism
Economic liberalism
Social liberalism [1]
Pro-Europeanism
Political position Centre-left [1]
European Parliament group Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Colors  Peacoat
  Yellow
Website
wybierzteraz.pl

Now! (Polish : Teraz!) was a short-lived liberal political party in Poland. The party was founded on 17 November 2018 by the former World Bank economist Ryszard Petru [2] and Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus as a split from the Modern party which Petru was also a founder. His partner Joanna Schmidt, the vice-president of ALDE also defected. The party joined the European Coalition on 18 February 2019. [3] The party was dissolved on 4 July 2019. [4]

Contents

History

The party was registered on 6 November 2018 under the name Liberal-Social, [5] which was then carried by the MP circle formed by its founders. They were the MPs who left the Nowoczesna party in May 2018: Ryszard Petru (founder of Nowoczesna and its first chairman), Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus and Joanna Schmidt (later under the name Mihułka, vice-chair of ALDE). Ryszard Petru became chairman of the new party and its treasurer Marcin Grunwald. [5] The grouping already under the new name Now! was presented on 17 November 2018, with Joanna Mihułka as the new party treasurer. Among others, Anna Skiba, who on 16 November as head of Nowoczesna's structures in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, left the party together with almost all its activists from the region who were dissatisfied with the functioning of the Civic Coalition. [6] On 20 November 2018, the Liberal-Socialist parliamentary circle was re-registered as the Now! circle. A few days later, about 40 people from Western Pomeranian Voivodeship, hailing from Nowoczesna, joined the party. [7] [8] On 9 December 2018, the party's convention was held at Centrum Praski Koneser in Warsaw, at which programme demands were presented. Speakers included former MP and deputy mayor of Warsaw Jacek Wojciechowicz and former head of the Youth Forum of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan and the Young Modern Forum Adam Kądziela. [9]

On 18 February 2019, the party's board of directors announced its accession to the European Coalition, established for the European Parliament elections in the same year. [10] In addition, the parliamentary circle Now! proposed to Nowoczesna to form a federated parliamentary club, but Nowoczesna rejected this offer. [11] Despite the party's endorsement of the EC, it did not become an entity, with two leading activists of Now! (while remaining in the grouping) ran for the European Parliament elections from the Spring party lists - Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus from second place on the list in the Warsaw district, and Anna Skiba opened the list in the Podkarpackie district. [12] . However, neither of them won a seat. Both members of the Now! won a total of 29,570 votes, or 0.22% of the votes cast nationally (and 3.58% of all Spring candidates).

Now! did not submit its financial report for 2018, and on 30 March 2019 the party's convention passed a resolution to dissolve it. [13] The leader and liquidator of Ryszard Petru's grouping announced his resignation from running in the next elections and his withdrawal from political activity afterwards, and on 4 July 2019 the party's statutory bodies announced the end of the party's activities. [14] . The parliamentary circle Now! functioned until the end of the VIII term of the Sejm. In the Parliamentary elections 2019, its MP Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus successfully ran for re-election as a Spring candidate from the SLD list (as part of the Left project).

Ideology

The party was described as left-wing and of liberal-social character. [1] When asked about his new party in 2018, Ryszard Petru stated that the party is liberal both socially and economically, and advocates for policies such as moving away from coal in favor of renewable energy and correcting the 500 plus program so it would not be given to wealthy families. [15]

The party argued that the 500 plus program did not work out as planned and proved to be a "demographic fiasco", and offered to reform the program to ensure that it is "only for those who need it". Additionally, the party called for reducing the PIT (Personal Income Tax) and CIT (Corporate Income Tax) rates to 16 percent. Now! also advocated for the introduction of a construction tax credit and a subsidy for renting flats, with the main goal of the program being subsidising all tenants on a monthly basis for long-term rental. The party also wanted to make Poland the Eurozone within one year time. [16]

Related Research Articles

Civic Platform is a centre-right political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk.

The Polish People's Party is an agrarian political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recognition of same-sex unions in Poland</span>

Poland does not legally recognize same-sex unions, either in the form of marriage or civil unions. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have limited legal rights in regards to the tenancy of a shared household. A few laws also guarantee certain limited rights for unmarried couples, including couples of the same sex. Same-sex spouses also have access to residency rights under EU law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Poland</span> Legislature of Poland

The parliament of Poland is the bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house and a lower house. Both houses are accommodated in the Sejm complex in Warsaw. The Constitution of Poland does not refer to the Parliament as a body, but only to the Sejm and Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska</span> Polish politician

Małgorzata Maria Kidawa-Błońska, née Grabska is a Polish politician, lawyer, film producer, and sociologist. She was Marshal of the Sejm from 25 June 2015 to 11 November 2015 at the end of the Seventh term's composition of the lower house, after which being voted a Deputy Marshal of the Eighth and Ninth term, each time nominated by the opposition party Civic Platform, under the marshalcy of Marek Kuchciński and Elżbieta Witek, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Your Movement</span> Political party in Poland

Your Movement is a social liberal, populist and anti-clerical political party in Poland. The party was founded by Janusz Palikot, a former Civic Platform MP, in October 2010 as Palikot's Movement. The party is classified as a centre-left to left-wing party in the context of Polish politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryszard Petru</span> Polish politician (born 1972)

Ryszard Jerzy Petru (born 6 July 1972) is a Polish politician. He served as an assistant to several members of parliament in the 1990s. He has worked as an economist for the World Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers and several Polish banks. Since 2011, he has been the chairman of the Association of Polish Economists. He is the author of several books, including two children's books on economics.

Modern is a centrist political party in Poland. It is currently led by Adam Szłapka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Polish parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 13 October 2019. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) retained its majority in the Sejm, but lost its majority in the Senate to the opposition. With 43.6% of the popular vote, Law and Justice received the highest vote share by any party since Poland returned to democracy in 1989. The turnout was the highest for a parliamentary election since the first free elections after the fall of communism in 1989. For the first time after 1989, the ruling party controls one house, and the opposition the other.

In the run up to the 2019 Polish parliamentary election, various organisations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Poland. Results of such polls are displayed in this article.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union of European Democrats</span> Political party in Poland

The Union of European Democrats is a liberal political party in Poland. It is led by Elżbieta Bińczycka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agreement (political party)</span> Political party in Poland

The Agreement, formally known as Jarosław Gowin's Agreement, is a centre-right political party in Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katarzyna Lubnauer</span> Polish politician and deputy

Katarzyna Anna Lubnauer is a Polish politician, feminist, mathematician and academic teacher. She is a member of the Polish Parliament and a former leader of the liberal Modern (.Nowoczesna) political party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Right (Poland)</span> Polish right-wing conservative political alliance

The United Right is a conservative political alliance in Poland. It came to power following the 2015 parliamentary election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Coalition (Poland)</span> Liberal electoral alliance in Poland

The European Coalition was a short-lived political alliance and electoral list in Poland. It was established in 2019 by a group of former prime ministers and former foreign ministers, including Jerzy Buzek, Ewa Kopacz, Grzegorz Schetyna and Radosław Sikorski. They declared the will to construct "one broad list in European Parliament election, the aim of which would be to restore Poland's strong position in the European Union". The Coalition is to be pro-European and centrist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus</span> Polish politician

Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus is a Polish politician. She is a member of the Sejm for The Left political coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borys Budka</span> Polish politician

Borys Piotr Budka is a Polish politician, member of Sejm of the 7th, 8th and 9th legislature, Minister of Justice in 2015, vice-president of the Civic Platform political party in the 2016–2020 period, leader of the parliamentary political group of Civic Coalition since 2019, leader of the Civic Platform from 2020 to 2021.

Parliamentary elections will be held in Poland on 15 October 2023 to elect members of the Sejm and Senate, although they can be held sooner if a snap election is called, which last occurred in 2007. The previous election, in 2019, resulted in the re-election of a majority Law and Justice government, albeit without a majority in the Senate. The Law and Justice government will try to win a record 3rd term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaudia Jachira</span> Polish actress and politician

Klaudia Krystyna Jachira is a Polish politician, actress, comedian and YouTuber. She is a member of the Sejm since 2019.

Szymon Hołownia's Poland 2050 is a centrist political party in Poland.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Artur Bartkiewicz (22 November 2018). "Zandberg kpi z Petru: Nasza tajna broń". RP.pl (in Polish).
  2. Tom Lansford, ed. (2017). Political Handbook of the World 2016-2017. SAGE Publications. p. 1219. ISBN   978-1-5063-2715-0.
  3. "Partia Teraz! dołącza do Koalicji Europejskiej". wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  4. Izabela Kacprzak (5 July 2019). "Petru odchodzi z polityki?". RP.pl (in Polish).
  5. 1 2 "Position 2058". Judicial and Economic Monitor No. 11/2019. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  6. Alina Bosak (19 November 2018). "Nowoczesna left 13 people in Stalowa Wola. The rest to Petru or Biedronia". biznesistyl.pl. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  7. { "Nowoczesna politicians from Western Pomerania leave en masse. They are returning to Petru and joining Now!". gazeta.pl. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  8. "Former Nowoczesna activists move to Now! "With our hearts we are with Ryszard Petru"". wyborcza.pl. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  9. Aleksandra Rebelińska (9 December 2018). "In the programme Now! 16 percent PIT and CIT and separation of church and state". pap.pl. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  10. ""No time for divisions. The Now! joins the European Coalition". tvn24.pl. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  11. "Head of Nowoczesna rejects proposal of Ryszard Petru". interia.pl. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  12. "PKW Service - Elections 2019" . Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  13. "Position 1631". Court and Economic Monitor No. 8/2020. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  14. "Now! end". rp.pl. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  15. Paweł Supernak (19 December 2018). "Ryszard Petru w Onet Opinie: nie spodziewam się żebyśmy wygrali wybory". onet.pl (in Polish).
  16. Paweł Supernak (9 December 2018). ""Głęboka korekta" 500 plus, przywrócenie handlu w niedziele. Teraz! prezentuje program". tvn24.pl (in Polish).