Left Together facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Left Together Lewica Razem
Co-leaders	Magdalena Biejat Adrian Zandberg
Founded	16 May 2015
Headquarters	Nowy Świat 27, Warsaw
Youth wing	Młodzi Razem
Ideology	Social democracy Democratic socialism Progressivism Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Left-wing
National affiliation	The Left Senate Pact 2023
European affiliation	Central-Eastern European Green Left Alliance
Colours	Alizarin carmine
Sejm	8 / 460
Senate	2 / 100
European Parliament	0 / 52
Regional assemblies	1 / 552

Left Together (called Lewica Razem in Polish) is a political party in Poland. It focuses on ideas that are considered "left-wing".

The party started in 2015 and was first known as Together (Razem). It was one of the main groups that ran in the 2015 election in Poland. Left Together supports ideas like democratic socialism and social democracy. This means they believe in fairness for everyone and want the government to help people with things like healthcare and education. They also have progressive views, which means they support new ideas and social changes. Since 2022, the party has two main leaders: Adrian Zandberg and Magdalena Biejat.

How the Party Started and Grew

Left Together was created because some people felt that the existing left-wing parties in Poland were not doing enough. Many of its founders were young activists from groups like the Young Socialists or The Greens.

The party officially began on May 16–17, 2015. This is when they decided on their main goals and elected their first leaders. The party was officially registered on July 21, 2015.

In the 2015 election, Left Together got 3.6% of the votes. This was not enough to win seats in the Polish parliament (the Sejm), because parties need at least 5% of the votes to get seats. However, because they got more than 3% of the votes, they received money from the government to help with their campaigns.

In 2017, Left Together organized a protest in Poland when Donald Trump visited. People dressed as characters from a book called The Handmaid's Tale. This was to show their concern about women's rights in Poland and the United States.

In 2018, Marcelina Zawisza, one of the party's co-founders, was recognized by Forbes magazine. She was included in their "Forbes 30 Under 30" list for Europe, which highlights young leaders.

In May 2019, Left Together created a youth group called Młodzi Razem (The Together Youth). This group is for young people aged 13 to 25. They work on local projects and support minority rights.

For the 2019 election, Left Together joined forces with other parties like the Democratic Left Alliance and Wiosna. They formed a group called The Left. This group won 49 seats in the Sejm, and six of those seats went to members of Left Together. After the election, the party decided that its elected members should give away any income they earned that was more than three times the minimum wage. This was to show their commitment to lowering politicians' pay.

In the 2023 election, Left Together again joined The Left coalition. This time, seven members of Left Together were elected to the Sejm, and two won seats in the Senate. After the election, Left Together decided not to join the government directly. However, they promised to support the new government on important votes.

What Left Together Believes In

Left Together activists protesting against changes to the Polish Constitutional Court in 2015.

Left Together has clear ideas about how Poland should be run.

Economy and Work

The party strongly supports workers' rights. They are against making it easier for companies to operate without rules (called deregulation) and against selling off public services (like hospitals or schools) to private companies (called privatisation).

Some of their main goals include:

• Making sure wealth is shared more fairly (called redistribution).
• Having a 35-hour workweek for everyone.
• Increasing the amount of money people can earn before they have to pay income tax.
• Making big companies pay more corporate tax.
• Creating a healthcare system that is paid for by the government.
• Removing special economic zones, which are areas where businesses get tax breaks.

The party's economic ideas are partly inspired by the Nordic model, which is used in countries like Sweden and Norway. They also believe in fighting against austerity, which means cutting government spending to reduce debt.

Social Issues

Left Together activists marching in the 2018 Equality Parade, supporting LGBT rights.

Left Together is very progressive on social issues. They support sex education in schools and stand up for LGBT rights. They also make sure that there is a fair number of men and women in leadership roles (called gender quotas).

While they are not against religion, they do support secularism. This means they believe the government should be separate from the Church. For example, they are against teaching Catholic religion in public schools and want to limit government money going to the Church.

The party believes that Poland should "actively join the fight against climate change". They want Poland to change its economy to deal with the challenges of climate change.

Foreign Relations and Defense

Left Together wants Poland to play an active role in the world. They see organizations like the United Nations as very important for international cooperation.

The party strongly supports the European Union. They believe the EU can be improved to help people more, not just big businesses. They also suggest creating a shared EU army for defense.

They are against imperialism, which is when one country tries to control others. They have spoken out against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. They also criticize Vladimir Putin's foreign policy and the Russian annexation of Crimea. They condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it a violation of international law.

The party welcomes refugees to Poland and believes the country has a duty to help those in need. They are also against building border barriers.

How Left Together is Organized

Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, a former member of the Left Together National Board.

Left Together is led by two co-leaders, Adrian Zandberg and Magdalena Biejat. Before November 2022, the party did not have a single leader. Instead, it was run by five main groups:

• Congress: This is the highest authority of the party. It elects leaders and decides on the party's plans.
• National Council: This group makes laws for the party.
• National Executive Board: This group carries out the party's plans and represents the party to the public.
• National Audit Commission: This group checks how the party is doing.
• National Court of Arbitration: This group handles any disagreements within the party.

Similar groups exist at the local level in different parts of Poland.

As of January 2021, the National Executive Board includes the two co-chairs and three vice-leaders: Anna Górska, Bartosz Grucela, and Dorota Olko.

Members Elected to the Sejm and Senate

Here are some of the members of Left Together who were elected to the Polish parliament.

Members in the 9th Term Sejm (2019)

Members in the 10th Term Sejm and 11th Term Senate (2023)

All 2023 elected members of Left Together with their official certificates from the National Electoral Commission.

Election Results for Left Together

This section shows how Left Together has performed in different elections in Poland.

Sejm Elections

The Sejm is the main house of the Polish parliament.

Election	Votes	%	Seats	Change	Government
2015	550,349	3.6 (#7)	0 / 460	New	Not in parliament
2019	509,318	2.7 (12.6) (#3)	6 / 460	6	PiS
	As part of The Left coalition, which won 49 seats in total.
2023	453,730	2.1 (8.6) (#4)	7 / 460	1	Supported the government
	As part of The Left coalition, which won 26 seats in total.

Senate Elections

The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament.

European Parliament Elections

These elections decide who represents Poland in the European Parliament.

Presidential Elections

This shows who the party supported in presidential elections.

Regional Assembly Elections (Sejmiks)

Sejmiks are regional parliaments in Poland.

Year	Popular vote	% of vote	Seats	Change
2018	242,511	1.57 (#8)	0 / 552	New
2024	911,430	6.32 (#5)	1 / 552	1
	As part of The Left coalition, which won 8 seats in total.