Democratic Party of the Left (Poland)

The Democratic Party of the Left (Polish: Demokratyczna Partia Lewicy, DPL) was a left-wing political party in Poland. The party was founded on 7 December 2002 and formally registered on 23 January 2003. It was founded by former activists of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). DPL sought to create a "real left-wing" alternative to SLD, dismissing SLD as a corrupt and neoliberal party funded by Western capital. The party sought to create a broad coalition of minor left-wing parties, and participated in numerous Polish elections between 2003 and 2007, forging alliances and agreements with multiple similar parties, but never managed to receive a seat. It participated in social actions, protests and declarations, decrying neoliberalism, capitalism, and Western interventions in the Middle East. The party remained active until 2010, and was dissolved in 2013.

DPL considered itself "the real left wing" in Poland. The party positioned itself as a direct opponent of economic liberalism and social conservatism; at the same time it was supportive of the Polish membership in the European Union. It considered the Democratic Left Alliance a "centre-right party", and formed one of many parties that split off from SLD between 2001 and 2005. While initially rigorously internationalist and opposed to populism, DPL shifted towards left-wing populism and anti-capitalist by 2005, and started cooperating with nationalist and anti-EU parties. That year, the party became a close ally of the far-left Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland, and joined its electoral list in the 2005 election. It remained closely integrated with Self-Defence afterwards, and stayed active by participating in left-wing coalitions and offering endorsements.