Partia Razem

Foundation Razem was founded as a response to the unsuccessful attempt to create a left-wing political platform in Poland during the 2015 presidential election. Another reason was dissatisfaction with the role of the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance as the main centre-left party. Many founders were previously activists in the Young Socialists, The Greens or local initiatives, including Kraków Against Games. Razem's main political stances were formulated during the founding congress on 16–17 May 2015, when Razem's first National Board was elected, consisting of Jakub Baran, Aleksandra Cacha, Alicja Czubek, Maciej Konieczny, Magdalena Malińska, Mateusz Mirys, Katarzyna Paprota, Adrian Zandberg, and Marcelina Zawisza. However, several local structures were active even earlier, in March and April. The party was officially registered on 21 July 2015. Razem registered lists for the 2015 parliamentary election in all electoral districts and received 3.6% of the vote in the election, below the 5% threshold to gain seats in parliament. However, having met the 3% threshold, the party received state subsidies for their election campaign. First years In 2016, Razem instigated mass protests (called the Black Protest) against a bill that would impose a complete ban on abortion, proposed by a citizens' initiative. In 2016, Foreign Policy magazine included Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk of the Razem National Board, together with Barbara Nowacka of Polish Initiative (Inicjatywa Polska), in its annual list of the 100 most influential global thinkers for their role in organising the protest. In 2018, Forbes magazine included Marcelina Zawisza on its annual European Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the "Law & Policy" category for her role as a co-founder of Razem and one of the organisers of "black protest". In 2016, Razem began cooperating with the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) pan-European movement, founded by Yanis Varoufakis. In May 2017, Varoufakis expressed DiEM25's support for Razem in the 2019 European Parliament election. On 6 July 2017, Razem organised a protest against Donald Trump's visit to Poland. Protesters were dressed as handmaids from Margaret Atwood's ''The Handmaid's Tale'', as a symbol of the stripping down of women's rights both in Poland and the United States. On 29 October, the commission announced that it would investigate the complaint. In 2018, the party was subjected to an investigation by the prosecutor's office for allegedly promoting communism, which goes against the Polish constitution. Party co-leader Adrian Zandberg accused the government of initiating the investigation as retaliation for the party's criticism and repudiated any links between Razem and totalitarianism. 2019 election In early 2019, in the run-up to the European Parliament election Razem Party rejected a proposal of an alignment with Robert Biedroń's Spring. On 28 February, party leaders officially announced formation of the electoral coalition with Labour Union and Social Justice Movement under the name of Lewica Razem. The coalition received 1.24% of overall votes, and thus did not pass the 5% threshold and did not win any seats. For the 2019 parliamentary election, Razem formed a coalition with the Democratic Left Alliance and Wiosna, known as The Left. The move had been a topic of intense debate due to Razem being founded in opposition to the Democratic Left Alliance. Many activists left due to the decision and the faction Socialist Action split to become an independent organisation. In the election Razem won six seats in the Sejm. Soon after the election results were announced, the National Board voted to oblige the six elected MPs to donate all income surpassing triple the minimum wage to charity; universally lowering politicians' pay to this threshold was one of the early postulates. Since the electoral list was formally registered to SLD, Razem's candidates could not receive funding from their own party. Instead, they made personal donations after having withdrawn "appreciation bonus" from the party's budget. The situation caused uproar and was met with opposition within Razem. During 2021 and 2022, the party released a podcast. Episodes consisted of interviews, discussions, solo talks, and speeches recorded during the parliamentary sessions. Outside of this, Razem is active on other social media. In 2022, Razem ended cooperation with DiEM25 and Progressive International, criticising their, "lack of unequivocal declaration of recognition of Ukraine's sovereignty and the absolute condemnation of Russian imperialism" during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. 2023 election and after In the 2023 election, the party continued its engagement in The Left with other centre-left and left-wing parties. The coalition received the nationwide electoral list number 3. Seven members of Razem were elected to Sejm and two successfully ran for Senate seats, with the Senate Pact endorsement. According to Dan Davison, "Razem’s focus on optics and appearing “united” made it reluctant to criticize its partners in Lewica", including abstaining from criticizing the right-wing shift on immigration during the 2023 campaign. Razem had intended to enter government as part of The Left coalition together with Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition and Third Way after the 2023 election but opted against doing as the other parties refused to include guarantees the party had sought in the coalition agreement, such as the decriminalisation of abortion and higher expenditure targets for issues such as healthcare and housing. However, it vowed to support Tusk's government in votes of confidence. It temporarily abstained from criticizing the Civic Coalition-led government, with Adrian Zandberg arguing that "We need to let the people who sit behind these doors and work on the government’s program simply work." In this context, membership in The Left coalition became increasingly untenable. As a result, on 11–12 October, a non-binding, consultative referendum was held to decide the course of the party ahead of a party congress on 26–27 October. 54% of participating members voted to leave the Left coalition. In expectation of and against this course being taken by the party at the congress, five Razem parliamentarians, including co-leader Magdalena Biejat, announced they would be leaving the party and remaining in The Left (parliamentary) coalition on 24 October. The party then voted to leave the Left coalition, with 0 votes against, on 27 October. In December, Zandberg was re-elected, while Aleksandra Owca became a new co-leader of the party. On 11 January 2025, the party's National Council designated Adrian Zandberg as a candidate in the presidential election scheduled on 18 May. On 12 November 2025, MP Paulina Matysiak was expelled from the party by its National Board, who stated "further political cooperation within a single party is impossible". This was based on a provision for "specially justified cases", added to the party's charter 3 days earlier. ==Ideology==

|thumb Razem has been described as "slightly to the left of SLD". According to political scientist Filip Ilkowski, Razem "resembles the Union of Labour in looking for inspiration in the Scandinavian model of social democracy (with a strongly EU-orientated approach) but combined with patterning itself on some new left formations, chiefly Podemos in the Spanish state". The party rejects neoliberalism and supports principles of progressivism. It strongly condemns communism and called labelling it as such offensive. Razem was founded by feminist and anarchist groups, and was inspired by anti-austerity parties such as Syriza and Podemos. Political scientist Luke March described Razem as "closest to the radical left" amongst Polish parliamentary parties. However, he noted that the party breaks with the radical left through its anti-communism, as well as pro-EU and pro-Euro policies; Razem narrowly represents the interests of specific occupational sectors. Razem presents itself as a left-most alternative to all Polish parliamentary parties with a distinctly pro-worker and pro-social program, although its self-portrayal is considered to be undermined by the fact that the party entered the Sejm on the The Left electoral lists, and did not fully break with either The Left or the governing 15 October Coalition until late 2024. It presents "a strong militaristic and pro-NATO position" on foreign affairs. In December 2017, Razem rebuked its activist, Łukasz Moll, for calling himself a "democratic communist", prompting his resignation from the party. Although some label the party democratic socialist, Razem is generally critical towards state socialism as a system. Razem defends Karl Marx from a social-democratic perspective, as the party's leader Adrian Zandberg praised Marx as "the father of west European social democracy" while strongly comdemning "the totalitarian regimes of the second half of 20th century, that existed in eastern Europe, in Russia". The party's economic programme is partially inspired by the Nordic model, and it considers itself part of the anti-austerity movement. British economist Guy Standing describes Razem as "the first authentic movement in Poland representing the precariat". Journalist Michał Syska wrote on the party's program: Environmental politics Razem believes that Poland should "actively engage in the fight against climate change" and expresses its willingness to "take the necessary steps to adapt the economy [of Poland] to the challenges of climate change". It is socially progressive, supporting drug liberalisation, sex education in schools and LGBT rights. It also strictly follows gender quotas and is for liberalising Poland's abortion law. At the same time, Polish political scientists Michał Słowikowski and Michał Pierzgalski note that the party prioritises economic issues over social ones: At the same time, the party has been criticized for compromising its socioeconomic stances through its focus on social progressivism. It participated in LGBT marches together with commercial banks and megacorporations such as BNP Paribas, Accor, MSD, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Danske Bank, Accenture, Deloitte, and Ikea, despite otherwise criticizing big buginess for wealth inqeuality and claiming to fight against "ultra-capitalism" represented by these corporations. Political scientist Aleks Szczerbiak argued that Razem failed "to attract a broader range of support beyond the well-educated urban “hipsters” that formed its core electorate." The party is hostile towards the Catholic Church, arguing that there should be "essentially no room for cooperation between the state and the church" and postulating the need to stop formulating any agreements with the Church. It has opposed the introduction of Single Member Electoral Constituencies for elections to the Polish Sejm, which in their opinion leads to the creation of a two-party system. Razem is also critical of left-leaning big tent projects such as the United Left, arguing that the Polish left has discredited itself by working together with people like Leszek Miller (former Democratic Left Alliance Prime Minister) and Janusz Palikot (leader of Your Movement). Razem's founders state that "the postcommunist left-wing parties must disappear, so that a new, modern, European left party can reclaim the leftist vote". On the issue of migration, Razem advocates an open door migration policy. Foreign and defence policy Razem has been described as pro-European, The party supports an active role for Poland in the international community, citing the United Nations and OSCE as the most important organisations in that context. The party further proposes the creation of an EU army, and is also a supporter of transforming the EU into European United States. On the other hand, in 2019 the party has criticised the Eurozone, stating that it had been 'poorly thought-out' and could lead to financial shocks in 'weaker Union economies', however adding that if the 'reformed' Eurozone were to become 'truly solidary', it would fully support Poland's adoption of the Euro. In the 2025 Polish presidential election, Razem presented a more pro-European stance, advocating an open-door migration policy, increased European Union cooperation and immediate adoption of the euro. The party explicitly rejected views that the blame for the Russo-Ukrainian War might lie with Ukraine or NATO. It supports deliver of weapons and military supplies to Ukraine and also supports sanctions against Russia. The party also moved towards supporting NATO, praising it as "the most effective guarantor of Poland's and Europe's security at present". At the same time, the party declared that it is convinced that NATO alone was 'not a sufficient tool' to ensure the lasting security of Poland and Europe, instead preferring the creation of an EU Army through the Common Security and Defence Policy. Razem cut ties with the DiEM25 movement of Yanis Varoufakis because of DiEM25's opposition to NATO. Razem supports efforts for international arms control and disarmament as part of a larger 'peace policy'. The party states that it opposes 'all forms of imperialism' and has condemned the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which they deem to be a violation of international law. At the same time, it has criticised 'the policy of the conservative-liberal Ukrainian government'. Razem stated that if it were in power, it would 'support social justice [in Ukraine] and limit the influence of the Ukrainian oligarchy'. The party opposes TTIP and CETA, as they believe they will "lead to the undermining of financial stability and rapid growth of debt". ==Structure and leadership==

Pursuant to the party statute, the Congress has the supreme authority within the party and convenes once a year. It consists of delegates selected within party districts. Other national bodies of the party are the: • National Council, a deliberative and regulatory assembly; • National Board, an executive body, led by two co-chairpersons selected with quotaism rule through universal suffrage by party members; • National Audit Commission, carrying out evaluations and supervising adherence to the statute; • National Electoral Commission, conducting party elections and referendums; • Party Court of Arbitration, conducting mediations and dysciplinary proceedings. ==Parliamentary representation==

=== Members elected to the 9th term Sejm === === Members elected to the 10th term Sejm === certificates === Former members elected to the 10th term Sejm and 11th term Senate === ==Election results==

Presidential Sejm Senate European Parliament Sejmiks == List of notable Razem politicians ==

• Adrian Zandberg • Marcelina Zawisza • Marta Stożek • Maciej Konieczny • Wojciech Browarny • Piotr Czerniawski • Paweł Dembowski • Tomasz Ganicz • Monika Kostera • Mateusz Merta Former members include: • Paulina Matysiak • Daria Gosek-Popiołek • Dorota Olko • Joanna Wicha • Anna Górska • Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk • Kasia Babis • Magdalena Biejat ==Notes==