Modern ( pl, Nowoczesna, styled as ".Nowoczesna") is a

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...

political party in Poland. It is currently led by Adam Szłapka. It was formed in 2015 as "ModernPL" although due to controversy it had to change the name to ".Modern" later that year. Its first president Ryszard Petru served until 2017, when he was succeeded by Katarzyna Lubnauer. It first gained seats in the 2015 parliamentary election, and in 2018 it joined the Civic Coalition to participate together in the local elections. Szłapka was elected as president in 2019. Modern is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and it is orientated towards the principles of

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for ...

, and

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econo ...

. It also supports Poland's membership in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

History

The party was founded in late May 2015 as NowoczesnaPL (ModernPL) by economist Ryszard Petru. The founding convention was held on 31 May 2015 at which around 6,000 people gathered to participate. The chairman presented the program of the party, and besides him, other activists spoke during the convention. Due to some controversy over its name – there had already been a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

called the Modern Poland Foundation, In August 2015, the party's name was changed to .Modern (.Nowoczesna). Around the same time, the party's new logo was presented, and Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz became its spokesperson. The party received 7.6% of votes in the 2015 parliamentary election, which resulted in winning 28 seats in the Sejm. The party was admitted into the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) on 4 June 2016. From 2015 election to end of 2016 Nowoczesna had more support in polls than Platforma Obywatelska. It has lost it after image problems of Ryszard Petru. Katarzyna Lubnauer became the leader of Nowoczesna in November 2017. In leader elections at the party congress, Lubnauer received 149 votes and Petru received 140 votes. In March 2018, Modern and Civic Platform formed the Civic Coalition electoral alliance to contest the 2018 local elections. In May 2018, founder Ryszard Petru left the party. In 2019, Modern was running for the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

as part of the European Coalition. In June 2019, Modern joined the Civic Platform - Civic Coalition parliamentary group. During the 2019 Polish parliamentary elections the party was a member of the Civic Coalition along with the Civic Platform, Polish Initiative and the

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Eu ...

. After these elections, Modern rejoined the Civic Coalition parliamentary group, and Adam Szłapka was elected as president of the party.

Ideology

The party has been compared to the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), with its emphasis on

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism, ...

in its policy platform. With their new party programme released in 2021, the party significantly changed its economical course to a more left-wing economical stance, while still maintaining its progressive social nature. This may be caused by the participation in Civic Coalition (it contains other left-wing like the Polish Initiative and

Leadership

Party Leaders

Parliamentary Leaders

Since 13 June 2019 members of Modern are part of the Civic Coalition parliamentary group.

Election results

Sejm

Senate

Regional assemblies

European Parliament

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2015 establishments in Poland Centrist parties in Poland Civic Coalition (Poland) Classical liberal parties Liberal parties in Poland Political parties established in 2015 Political parties in Poland Pro-European political parties in Poland