Polish People's Party

Polish People's Party
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe
LeaderWładysław Kosiniak-Kamysz
Founded1895 (1895)
(original form)
1990 (1990)
(current form)
Merger of
Preceded byUnited People's Party
Headquartersul. Kopernika 36/40, 00-924 Warsaw
Membership (2023) 73,222
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right to right-wing
Historical:
Left-wing
National affiliationPolish Coalition
Senate Pact 2023 (for 2023 Senate election)
Third Way
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party
Colours
  •   Aquamarine
  •   Green
Anthem"Rota"
Sejm
28 / 460
Senate
4 / 100
European Parliament
2 / 53
Regional assemblies
58 / 552
City presidents
1 / 107
Voivodes
2 / 16
Voivodeship Marshals
2 / 16
Website
psl.pl

The Polish People's Party (Polish: Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) is a conservative political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although its name was changed to the present one in 1903. During the Second Polish Republic, the Polish People's Party was represented by a number of parties that held its name. They were all supportive of agrarian policies, although they spanned from the left-wing to the centre-right on the political spectrum. It was reformed to the People's Party shortly after the Sanacja regime took power. It took part into the formation of Polish government-in-exile during the World War II, and after the war it was again reformed into the Polish People's Party, and soon after into the United People's Party. During the existence of the Polish People's Republic, it was seen as a satellite party of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party that promoted rural interests. After the fall of communism, it participated in the governments led by the Democratic Left Alliance. In the mid-2000s, it began shifting more to the centre-right and it adopted more conservative policies. It entered in the government again following the 2007 parliamentary election, and since 2015 it has served in the opposition. Since 2015, the party abandoned agrarianism and shifted towards an economically liberal and non-ideological character.

Today, it is positioned in the centre-right and leans towards the right-wing; besides conservative views, it is also Christian democratic, and supports Poland's membership in the European Union. It currently has 19 seats in the Sejm and two seats in the Senate. On national level, it heads the Polish Coalition; further, on European level, it is a part of the European People's Party.