European Solidarity ( uk, Європейська солідарність, Yevropeis'ka solidarnist', YeS) is a political party in Ukraine. It has its roots in a parliamentary group called Solidarity dating from 2000 and has existed since in various forms as a political outlet for Petro Poroshenko. The party with its then name Petro Poroshenko Bloc won 132 of the 423 contested seats in the

2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada took place on 26 October 2014. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential election in May.

In August 2015, the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) merged into the party. In May 2019, the UDAR undid this merge.Klitschko said that UDAR will go to the polls
Ukrayinska Pravda (May 18, 2019) In October 2017, the party had about 30,000 members; former members of Party of Regions are denied membership. In the

2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parliament on 21 M ...

, the party won 23 seats on the nationwide party list and 2 constituency seats.CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections
Ukrinform (26 July 2019)
Results of the extraordinary elections of the People's Deputies of Ukraine 2019
Ukrayinska Pravda (21 July 2019) Initially formed as a social democratic party, it shifted to the

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and me ...

during the formation of Petro Poroshenko Bloc in 2014. Since then, it has been described as

Christian democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

liberal conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

, and civic nationalist. Regarding their foreign stances, they support the membership of Ukraine in the European Union and a peaceful end to the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Re ...

. In its program, they stated their support for decentralization and

anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measu ...

among other principles.

History

Solidarity (2000–2013)

The party started in 2000 as a parliamentary faction called "Solidarity", set up by Petro Poroshenko, until then a member of the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) faction.Ukrainian Political Update
by Taras Kuzio and Alex Frishberg, Frishberg & Partners, 21 February 2008 (page 22)Chocolate tycoon heads for landslide victory in Ukraine presidential election
, '' The Guardian'' (23 May 2014)
The Return of the Prodigal Son, Who Never Left Home
, ''

The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' ( uk, Український Тиждень, translit=Ukrainskyi Tyzhden) is an illustrated weekly magazine covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides ...

'' (30 March 2012)
Who will lead Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and where?
, ''Den'' (27 February 2014) Taras Kuzio claims that this happened with the help of then President

Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...

, who allegedly wanted to limit the influence of the SDPU(u). Many deputies elected in 1998 for the

Peasant Party of Ukraine The Peasant Party of Ukraine (, ''Selyans'ka Partiya Ukrayiny'', SelPU) is an agrarian and socialist political party in Ukraine. It was created in 1992 as a successor of the Communist Party of Ukraine that was temporarily outlawed in 1991. At ...

and Hromada joined the new parliamentary faction. Based on his parliamentary faction Poroshenko eventually established the ''Party of Ukraine's Solidarity''. In 2000 that party merged into what would become the Party of Regions (later to become for a period the biggest party of UkraineAfter the parliamentary elections in Ukraine: a tough victory for the Party of Regions
, Centre for Eastern Studies (7 November 2012)) and Poroshenko became a Party of Regions deputy. In 2001, Poroshenko expressed interest in the creation of the Our Ukraine Bloc. However, in order to receive quote in Our Ukraine he had to join the bloc with his whole party. The Party of Ukraine's Solidarity failed to break away from the Party of Regions, therefore Poroshenko decided to create a new

phantom Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy unm ...

party with a similar name, the party "Solidarity". At the 2002 parliamentary elections Solidarity was able to join Our Ukraine. Top party members who received a parliamentary mandate on party list of the Our Ukraine electoral bloc in 2002 were Volodymyr Plyutynsky, Volodymyr Makeyenko, Eduard Matviychuk, Anatoliy Korchynsky, while a single constituency in Vinnytsia Oblast was won by Petro Poroshenko. After 2002, Solidarity stopped participating in elections. In 2004, the party left Our Ukraine, and was represented by 23 deputies in the Verkhovna Rada (the forming of new factions whose parties were not directly elected into parliament was not unique in Ukraine at the time.) In March 2013 the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Justi ...

asked the

Central Election Commission of Ukraine The Central Election Commission of Ukraine ( uk, Центральна виборча комісія України, commonly abbreviated in Ukrainian as ЦВК (''Tse-Ve-Ka''); sometimes referred to as the Central Electoral Commission of Ukrai ...

for evidence that Solidarity had not been involved in elections since 2003. On 17 June 2013, Fatherland member of parliament

Yuriy Stets Yuriy Yaroslavovych Stets ( uk, Юрій Ярославович Стець; born 29 December 1975) is a Ukrainian journalist and politician. He was appointed to the post of Minister of Information Policy at the formation of the Second Yatsenyuk ...

became head of the party.United Twice
, ''

'' (2 July 2013) Stets was a member of the united opposition's political council. On 16 October 2013, a court cancelled the registration certificate of Solidarity. The party could have challenged this on appeal, but did not and was legally eliminated on 31 December 2013 "due to lack of reporting". and because for more than 10 years had not participated in any election.Poroshenko goes to work
, '' Ukrayinska Pravda'' (6 June 2014)

Petro Poroshenko Bloc (2014–2019)

Early in 2014, Poroshenko became leader of the National Alliance of freedom and Ukrainian patriotism "OFFENSIVE", which was renamed "All-Ukrainian Union Solidarity".Poroshenko and void
, Ukrayinska Pravda (16 May 2014) By doing so, Poroshenko de facto prolonged the life of Solidarity and de facto merged the National Alliance of freedom and Ukrainian patriotism "OFFENSIVE" into Solidarity (legally the original party "Solidarity" does not exist anymore). National Alliance of freedom and Ukrainian patriotism "OFFENSIVE" was registered in May 2000 under the name All-Ukrainian Party of Peace and Unity ( uk, Всеукраїнська партія миру i єдності, HPEM). It was not allowed to participate in the electoral alliance "Rainbow" in the Ukrainian 2002 parliamentary elections. In the 2006 elections, the party failed as part of the electoral alliance Yuriy Karmazin Bloc to win parliamentary representation. In the 2007 elections, the party failed again as part of the All-Ukrainian Community to win parliamentary representation.Всеукраїнська партія Миру і Єдності
DATA After this election (the party) "All-Ukrainian Party of Peace and Unity" was renamed National Alliance of Freedom and Ukrainian patriotism "OFFENSIVE". National Alliance of freedom and Ukrainian patriotism "OFFENSIVE" did not participate in the 2012 parliamentary elections. In May and June 2014, '' Ukrayinska Pravda'' characterised the party ("All-Ukrainian Union Solidarity") as "a myth with no website, unknown phone numbers and non existing addresses". At the 2014 presidential election, Poroshenko was elected

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, cond ...

.
During a 27 August 2014 party congress, the "All-Ukrainian Union Solidarity" changed its name to "Bloc of Petro Poroshenko" ( uk, Блок Петра Порошенка, ''Blok Petra Poroshenka''),Poroshenko wants coalition to be formed before parliamentary elections
, Interfax-Ukraine (27 August 2014)
Solidarity Party to be renamed Bloc of Petro Poroshenko – congress
, Interfax-Ukraine (27 August 2014) and elected the former

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Yuriy Lutsenko Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko ( uk, Юрій Віталійович Луценко; born 14 December 1964) is a Ukrainian politician whose most recent post was Prosecutor General of Ukraine from 12 May 2016 On 2 September, Vitali Klitschko, then parliamentary leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform, stated that since his party and the Petro Poroshenko Bloc had agreed to joint participation in parliamentary elections on 29 March 2014, the two parties were in discussion about running a joint list at the October 26 parliamentary election. On 15 September it became clear that 30% of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc election list would be filled by members of UDAR and that UDAR leader Klitschko was at the top of this list; Klitschko vowed not to resign as incumbent

Mayor of Kyiv The Head of Kyiv City ( uk, Київський міський голова, translit=Kyivskyi miskyi holova), unofficially and more commonly the Mayor of Kyiv ( uk, Мер Києва, translit=Mer Kyieva), is a city official elected by popular ...

, but on 21 November he gave up his seat in the new parliament.Klitschko gives up seat in parliament
, Interfax-Ukraine (21 November 2014) According to political scientist Tadeusz A. Olszański (in mid-September 2014) this deal with

UDAR The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform ( uk, Український демократичний альянс за реформи Віталія Кличка; the acronym UDAR ( uk, УДАР) translates to "strike" or "punch", en, Ukrainian ...

"enables it to use that party's large-scale structures, which the Poroshenko Bloc itself lacks". The party won the parliamentary election with 132 seats, beating the runner-up People's Front, who won 82 seats. People's Front was first in the nationwide party vote (22.14% against 21.81%) but the party won 69

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

seats while People's Front won only 18. On 27 November 2014, the party formed a parliamentary faction of 145 people (at the opening session of the new parliament). Top 10 politicians on the party list to the Ukrainian parliament: 1. Vitaliy Klychko, 2.

Yuriy Lutsenko Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko ( uk, Юрій Віталійович Луценко; born 14 December 1964) is a Ukrainian politician whose most recent post was Prosecutor General of Ukraine from 12 May 2016 Olha Bohomolets Olha Bohomolets ( uk, Ольга Вадимівна Богомолець, Olha Vadymivna Bohomolets, russian: Ольга Вадимовна Богомолец, Olga Vadimovna Bogomolets; born March 22, 1966) is a Ukrainian physician, singer and ...

, 4. Volodymyr Hroysman, 5.

Mustafa Dzhemilev Mustafa Abduldzhemil Jemilev ( crh, Mustafa Abdülcemil Cemilev, Мустафа Абдюльджемиль Джемилев, ), also known widely with his adopted descriptive surname Qırımoğlu "Son of Crimea" ( Crimean Tatar Cyrillic: , ; born ...

, 6. Yuliy Mamchur, 7. Maria Matios, 8.

Mykola Tomenko Mykola Volodymyrovych Tomenko ( uk, Микола Володимирович Томенко) (born December 11, 1964) is a Ukrainian politician. He has been a member of Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada from 2006 until 2016.

, 9. Iryna Herashchenko, 10.

Vitaliy Kovalchuk Vitali, Vitalii, Vitaly, Vitaliy and may refer to: People Given name * Vitaly Borker (born 1975 or 1976), Ukrainian American Internet fraudster and cyberbully * Vitaly Churkin (1952–2017), Russian politician * Vitaly Ginzburg (1916–2009), Russ ...

. On 21 November 2014 the party became a member of the coalition supporting the

second Yatsenyuk government The second Yatsenyuk government was created in Ukraine after the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election. On 2 December 2014, 288 members (of the 423

and endorsed nine new ministers for the government.

Real Business Billboard of BPP Solidarity in Saltivka in Kharkiv 2019

In March 2015, "Solidarity" was added to the name "Bloc of Petro Poroshenko". On 28 August 2015

and Petro Poroshenko Bloc officially merged into Petro Poroshenko Bloc. UDAR party leader Vitali Klitschko became so the new party leader. The party was one of the winners of the

2015 Ukrainian local elections On 25 October 2015 local elections took place in Ukraine. The elections were conducted a little over a year since the 2014 snap local elections, which were only held throughout parts of the country. A second round of voting for the election of ...

. It did well in West and

central Ukraine Central Ukraine ( uk, Центральна Україна, ''Tsentralna Ukraina'') consists of historical regions of left-bank Ukraine and right-bank Ukraine that reference to the Dnipro River. It is situated away from the Black Sea Littoral N ...

and

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast ( uk, Херсо́нська о́бласть, translit=Khersónsʹka óblastʹ, ), also known as Khersonshchyna ( uk, Херсо́нщина, ), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine, currently claimed and partly occupied ...

region.Why a 'Star Wars' Emperor Won Office in Ukraine
, Bloomberg News (26 October 2015)
Exit Polls Show Ukraine Divided For, Against Poroshenko Rule
, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (27 October 2015)
After Ukraine’s Local Elections: Early Misinterpretations
,

Carnegie Europe The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...

(27 October 2015)
Poroshenko hobbles on
,

Politico Europe ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the German-owned news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices ...

(26 October 2015)
Week’s milestones. Elections to be continued, blackmail in Minsk, and emotional lustration
, UNIAN (27 October 2015) According to Ukrainian media research of February 2016 22% of the parties' representatives in regional councils and 12% of the parties' parliamentary deputies were former members of the Party of Regions. Following the fall of the second Yatsenyuk government, the party joined the coalition that supports the 14 April 2016 installed Groysman Government. In the weeks prior to this 11 MPs had switched to the faction making forming the coalition possible. Klitschko resigned as Petro Poroshenko Bloc chairman (on 26 May) after a new law barring him as head of the

Kyiv City State Administration Kyiv City State Administration ( uk, Київська міська державна адміністрація, translit=Kyivska miska derzhavna administratsiia), is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, th ...

to be chairman or a member of a political party took effect on 1 May 2016. On 18 May 2019 Klitschko announced that UDAR would take part in the

autonomously.

European Solidarity (from 2019)

The party changed its name to its current form on 24 May 2019. According to party leader Poroshenko this had to be done in order to bring in a new leadership of the party and to win the

. Top 10 politicians on the party list to the Ukrainian parliament in these elections were 1. Petro Poroshenko, 2.

Andriy Parubiy Andriy Volodymyrovych Parubiy ( uk, Андрій Володимирович Парубій; born 31 January 1971) is a Ukrainian politician

, 3. Iryna Herashchenko, 4.

Mykhailo Zabrodskyi Mykhailo Vitaliyovych Zabrodskyi (; born 24 January 1973) is a Ukrainian politician and retired military officer. A member of the European Solidarity party, he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada in the 2019 election. Zabrodskyi is a former com ...

, 5. Sofia Fedyna, 6.

, 7. Yana Zinkevych, 8. Oleh Synyutka, 9. Akhtem Chyihoz, 10. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze. In the 2019 parliamentary election, European Solidarity scored badly, dropping to 8.10% of votes and electing 23 MPs (37% of which were women) on the nationwide party list and winning 2 constituency seats. The party voted against the confidence vote in the new

Honcharuk Government The Honcharuk government was formed on 29 August 2019, and was led by Oleksiy Honcharuk. It was the fourth Ukrainian cabinet formed since the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, following the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election. History Appointment o ...

. In June 2020 former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council during Poroshenko's presidency

Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov ( uk, Олександр Валентинович Турчинов; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National Se ...

became head of the 2020 Ukrainian local elections headquarters of the party.Turchynov will head the Eurosolidarity headquarters and will look for effective managers
Ukrayinska Pravda (30 June 2020) In this election European Solidarity did well in West and

and it significantly improved on its 2019 parliamentary election result in all

Ukrainian oblasts An oblast ( uk, о́бласть; ) in Ukraine, often called a region or province, is the main type of first-level administrative division of the country. Ukraine's territory is divided into 24 oblasts, as well as one autonomous republic, Crime ...

. 3,543 people won seats in local councils on behalf of the party, that is about 10.73% of the available seats.The CEC showed the top 10 parties that won the most seats in the election
Ukrayinska Pravda (18 November 2020)

Ideology and positions

The party officially decries populism and advocates for pragmatism and realism. According to Oleg Varfolomeyev of the

Eurasia Daily Monitor The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission today is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, whi ...

the party is a

party (and

was as well). According to Bohdan Butkevych of

, the party does not have an ideological unity. Due to the fact the party was created shortly before the

2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada took place on 26 October 2014. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential election in May. Hence its parliamentary faction consists of people who "have very different interests, methods of getting into parliament and plans".Petro Poroshenko Bloc: fragmentation
,

(8 March 2016) (Hence) the party's MPs tend not to vote alike. The party broadly reflects Poroshenko's ideology. On 27 August 2014 newly elected party leader Yuriy Lutsenko stated that the Petro Poroshenko Bloc should help Poroshenko implement his election promises. Official party positions include: * Open list elections * Decentralization * Creating a public television network * Bringing attention to the plight of the

Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...

* Enforcing Ukrainian as the sole official language * Membership of Ukraine in the European Union * Welfare and social protection for poor citizens * Law enforcement reform and creation of an independent judiciary * Ending corruption * Ensuring Ukraine's territorial integrity * Energy independence for Ukraine * Abolishing the immunity of senior officials * Privatizing all Ukrainian coal mines and liquidate or mothball all mines that cannot be privatized, with social support for the workers of the liquidated or mothballed mines and the population of these territories * Legislation to restrict religions whose leadership reside in aggressor states, e.g. Russia.

Party leaders

;Solidarity ;All-Ukrainian Party of Peace and Unity/National Alliance of freedom and Ukrainian patriotism "OFFENSIVE" ;Petro Poroshenko Bloc ;European Solidarity

Election results

Election results for ''Solidarity'', ''All-Ukrainian Party of Peace and Unity'', ''Petro Poroshenko Bloc'' and ''European Solidarity'' political party.

Verkhovna Rada

;Solidarity ;All-Ukrainian Party of Peace and Unity ;Petro Poroshenko Bloc ;European Solidarity

Presidential elections

Notes

References

External links

Official website

Party list
of the Our Ukraine electoral bloc, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:European Solidarity Petro Poroshenko 2000 establishments in Ukraine Christian democratic parties in Europe Christian political parties in Ukraine Civic nationalism Conservative parties in Ukraine European People's Party Liberal conservative parties Liberal parties in Ukraine Nationalist parties in Ukraine Parliamentary factions in Ukraine Political parties established in 2000 Political parties in Ukraine Pro-European political parties in Ukraine