Alliance of the Democratic Left
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Democratic Left Alliance
Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Leader | Włodzimierz Czarzasty |
| Founded | 1991 (as a coalition) 15 April 1999 (as a party) |
| Merger of | SdRP, minor parties |
| Headquarters | ul. Złota 9 Warsaw |
| Youth wing | Social Democratic Youth Federation |
| Membership (2012) | 36,328 |
| Ideology |
Social democracy Third Way |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| European affiliation | Party of European Socialists |
| International affiliation |
Progressive Alliance, Socialist International |
| European Parliament group | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats |
| Colours | Red |
| Sejm |
0 / 460
|
| Senate |
0 / 100
|
| European Parliament |
4 / 51
|
| Regional assemblies |
42 / 555
|
| Website | |
| www |
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Democratic Left Alliance (Polish: Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, SLD) is a social-democraticpolitical party in Poland. It was formed in 1991 as an electoral alliance of centre-left parties, and became a single party on 15 April 1999. It has always been considered a post-communist party. It has had no parliamentary representation since the 2015 parliamentary election.
The coalition can be classified as left-wing, however, during the 1990s, it managed to attract voters from the pro-market and even right-wing camp. The main support for SLD came from middle-rank state sector employees, retired people, former Polish United Workers Party (PUWP) and OPZZ members and those who were unlikely to be frequent church-goers. The core of the coalition (Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland) rejected concepts such as lustration and de-communization, supported a parliamentarian regime with only the role of an arbiter for the president and criticized the right-wing camp for introduction of religious education into school. The excommunists criticized the economic reforms, pointing to the high social costs, without negating the reforms per se.
SdRP, SDU and some other socialist and social-democratic parties had formed the original Democratic Left Alliance as a centre-left coalition just prior to the nation's first free elections in 1991. In 1999 the coalition became a party, but lost some members.
At the time, the coalition's membership drew mostly from the former PUWP. An alliance between the SLD and the Polish People's Party (PSL) ruled Poland in the years 1993–1997. However the coalition lost power to the right-wing Solidarity Electoral Action in the 1997 election as the right-wing opposition was united this time and because of the decline of support for SLD's coalition partner PSL, though the SLD itself actually gained votes.
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