Spring (political party)

Spring (Polish: Wiosna) is a social liberal and pro-European political party in Poland led by a former mayor of Słupsk, Robert Biedroń.

Spring

Wiosna
LeaderRobert Biedroń
General SecretaryKrzysztof Gawkowski
FounderRobert Biedroń
Founded3 February 2019 (2019-02-03)
Split fromYour Movement
Democratic Left Alliance (minor)
HeadquartersWarsaw
Youth wingPrzedwiośnie (Early Spring)
LGBT wingTęczowa Wiosna (Rainbow Spring)
Women's wingWiosna Kobiet (Women's Spring)
IdeologySocial liberalism[1][2]
Progressivism
Environmentalism
Feminism
Secularism
Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre-left[3]
National affiliationThe Left
European Parliament groupProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Colors     Purple
     Orange
SloganWe are the Spring!
AnthemPiosenka Wiosny (Song of Spring)[4]
Sejm
19 / 460
Senate
1 / 100
European Parliament
2 / 52
Regional assemblies
0 / 552
Website
wiosnabiedronia.pl

The party was founded on 3 February 2019 in Hala Torwar and ran in the 2019 European elections,[5] winning three seats.[6]

For the 2019 parliamentary election, the party formed a coalition with the Democratic Left Alliance and Razem, known as The Left, winning 19 seats in the Sejm.

Ideology

Platform

The core ideology of the party revolves around issues such as women’s rights, equality, creating a better community, bringing the European Union closer to the citizens, civic participation, increasing green politics and animal rights, rights of disabled people, innovative education, better public transport, better healthcare and establishment of the Justice and Reconciliation Commission.[7]

The party proposes to introduce a minimum monthly pension at PLN 1,600 per month as well as raising the minimum wage to PLN 2,700 by 2020 and then PLN 3265 by 2022 per month. Another proposal is to introduce a new law that would set the minimum wage at 60% of the national monthly income average. Spring supports increasing wages of the teachers, and proposes to set the wage at PLN 3,500 per month for teachers that are just beginning their job. Abolition of ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) and KRUS (Agricultural Social Insurance Fund) and transferring their competences to the tax administration. Yet another proposal is free access to the internet in the entire country. The party also pledges to increase disability benefit and to introduce a paid weekly holiday for carers of the disabled. Spring is proposing to reform the current 500+ (child benefit) system so that it would include payment for the first child and to lone fathers or mothers (right now 500+ is only paid for the second and next child, only for first if parent/s income does not exceed a certain amount set by the government).

On the environment, the party leader Biedroń stressed the importance of fighting smog by closing all mines by 2035, departing from coal and switching to renewable sources of energy. Biedroń also stressed the importance of protecting animal rights and called for the creation of an office of the Advocate of Natural Rights. On education, Spring takes a stance of making the education system more practical and less theory-based. The party also proposes to introduce obligatory anti-violence education and sex education in all types of schools, as well as doubling the number of hours during which English is taught in schools. Furthermore, the party wants to remove religious education classes from schools. Spring is committed to deglomeration of civil servant offices from Warsaw to other smaller cities. On world view issues, Spring takes a liberal stance by proposing to introduce civil partnerships for opposite-sex and same-sex couples as well as the legalisation of same-sex marriage, legalisation of abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, IVF funded by the state, total separation of church and state and abolition of the so-called Church Fund.[8] In a TV interview for TVN24, Biedron stated that the cost of his party's programme will be 35 billion PLN.[9]

gollark: I will soon™.
gollark: I can [REDACTED] in 36.05 seconds.
gollark: Communism will be eradicated.
gollark: I would join but I have a mere 613MB of free memory.
gollark: What were we talking about?

References
  1. "Kann dieser schwule Atheist Polen verändern?". Bild. 5 February 2019.
  2. "„Frühling“ macht der linken Mitte Hoffnung". Deutschlandfunk. 3 February 2019.
  3. Chapman, Annabelle. "How the Spring party is reviving the Polish left". New Statesman. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  4. "Piosenka Wiosny". wiosnabiedronia.pl.
  5. "Wiosna - partia Roberta Biedronia. 'Czas na nowy rozdział - wspólnie zmienimy Polskę!'". Wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  6. "Eurowybory 2019: Kto dostał się do Parlamentu Europejskiego?". www.gazetaprawna.pl (in Polish). 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019. In English: "Eurovillage 2019: Who got into the European Parliament?"
  7. "Wiosna".
  8. "Plan partii Biedronia w punktach".
  9. "Biedroń już wie: "35 mld zł będą kosztowały wszystkie przedstawione przeze mnie propozycje". A podliczył już te w Słupsku?".
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