View source for Civic Platform

{{pp-protected|reason=Arbitration enforcement: [[WP:ARBEE]]|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Political party in Poland (2001–2025)}}
{{use american english|date=April 2024}}
{{about|a political party in Poland|the political party in Russia with the same name in English|Civic Platform (Russia)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Civic Platform of<br />the Republic of Poland
| native_name      = Platforma Obywatelska<br>Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
| native_name_lang = pl
| logo             = Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland logo.svg
| logo_size        = 280px
| colorcode        = {{Political party data|color}}
| abbreviation     = PO
| chairman         = [[Maciej Płażyński]] (first)<br />[[Donald Tusk]] (last)
| founders         = {{ubl|Donald Tusk|[[Andrzej Olechowski]]|Maciej Płażyński}}
| founded          = {{Start date and age|2001|01|24|df=y|br=y}}
| dissolved        = {{Start date and age|2025|10|25|df=y|br=y}}
| split            = {{ubl|[[Solidarity Electoral Action]]|[[Freedom Union (Poland)|Freedom Union]]|[[Conservative People's Party (Poland)|Conservative People's Party]]}}
| headquarters     = ul. Wiejska 12A, 00-490 [[Warsaw]]
| merged           = [[Civic Coalition (party)]]
| youth_wing       = 
| membership_year  = 2025
| membership       = ~25,000<ref name="krytyka_członkowie">{{cite web |url=https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/wojcik-kiedy-wahadlo-wychyli-sie-w-lewa-strone/ |language=pl |website=[[Krytyka Polityczna]] |title=Wójcik: Wahadło jeszcze wychyli się w lewą stronę |first=Piotr |last=Wójcik |date=4 June 2025 |quote=6 tysięcy członków to wcale nie mało jak na polskie warunki. Przypomnijmy, że Platforma Obywatelska ma 25 tys. członków, a PiS 48 tys. Konfederacja ma zaledwie 11,5 tys. członków. Jeśli dodamy do 6 tys. Razemitów 25 tys. członków Nowej Lewicy, to mamy trzecią największą partię w Polsce – po PiS i PSL (73 tys.). |trans-quote=6,000 members is not a small number by Polish standards. Let us recall that the Civic Platform has 25,000 members, and PiS has 48,000. The Confederation has only 11,500 members. If we add the 25,000 members of the New Left to the 6,000 Razem members, we have the third largest party in Poland – after PiS and PSL (73,000).}}</ref>
| ideology         = {{ublist
 | [[Liberal conservatism]]
 | [[Christian democracy]]
 | [[Pro-Europeanism]]
}}
| position         = [[Centre-right politics|Centre-right]]
| european         = [[European People's Party]]
| national         = [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]]<br />[[Senate 2001]] ([[2001 Polish parliamentary election|2001]])<br />[[Senate Pact 2023]] ([[2023 Polish parliamentary election|2023]])
| europarl         = [[European People's Party Group]]
| colours          = {{ubl|{{color box|#FAA14C|border=darkgray}} Orange|{{color box|#0A41A8|border=darkgray}} Blue}}
<!-- Values obtained from Wikidata; to edit, see https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q156868 -->
| website          = {{Political party data|website}}
| country          = Poland
}}
The '''Civic Platform''' ({{langx|pl|Platforma Obywatelska}}, '''PO''')<ref group=nb>The party was officially the '''Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland''' (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej'').</ref> was a [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]] [[liberal conservative]] [[political party in Poland]]. The party's most prominent leader was [[Donald Tusk]], party chairman between 2003–2014 and 2021–2025.

It was formed in 2001 by splinter factions from the [[Solidarity Electoral Action]], the [[Freedom Union (Poland)|Freedom Union]] and the [[Conservative People's Party (Poland)|Conservative People's Party]], and it later placed second in the [[2001 Polish parliamentary election]]. It remained at the opposition until the [[2007 Polish parliamentary election|2007 Polish parliamentary opposition]], when it overtook [[Law and Justice]], won 209 seats, and Tusk was elected as [[prime minister of Poland|Prime Minister of Poland]]. Following the [[Smolensk air disaster]] in 2010, [[Bronisław Komorowski]] served as acting [[president of Poland]] and later won the [[2010 Polish presidential election]]. Tusk continued to serve as prime minister and leader of Civic Platform until he resigned in 2014 to assume the post of the president of the European Council. The party was defeated in the [[2015 Polish parliamentary election|2015 Polish parliamentary]] and [[2015 Polish presidential election|presidential]] elections. It placed second in the [[2019 Polish parliamentary election]], and its [[2020 Polish presidential election]] candidate, [[Rafał Trzaskowski]], won 49% of the popular vote in the second round and lost the election to [[Andrzej Duda]].

Initially positioned as a [[Christian democratic]] party with strong [[economically liberal]] tendencies, it soon adopted [[liberal conservatism]] throughout the 2000s. During its time in power, it was aligned with more [[Realpolitik|pragmatic]] and [[centrist]] views, and was characterized as a [[catch-all party]]. In the 2010s, the Civic Platform adopted more [[Social liberalism|socially liberal]] policies, aligned itself with [[conservative liberalism]] and economic neoliberalism, and it has since been positioned in the centre-right. It has also strongly advocated for Poland's membership in the [[European Union]] and [[NATO]]. It was a member of the [[European People's Party]].

The party headed an electoral alliance [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]], which was founded in 2018. Since its creation, it had shown strong electoral performances in [[Warsaw]], the west, and the north of Poland. Since the 2000s, the Civic Platform had established itself as one of the dominant political parties in Poland. On 25 October 2025, the party merged into a new party called [[Civic Coalition (party)|Civic Coalition]], bearing the same name as the PO-led electoral coalition from 2018.

==History==
===Establishment===
The Civic Platform was founded in 2001 as [[economic liberalism|economically liberal]], [[Christian-democratic]] split from existing parties. Founders [[Andrzej Olechowski]], [[Maciej Płażyński]], and [[Donald Tusk]] were sometimes jokingly called "the Three Tenors" by Polish media and commentators. Olechowski and Płażyński left the party during the 2001–2005 parliamentary term, leaving Tusk as the sole remaining founder, and current party leader.
===First elections===
In the [[2001 Polish parliamentary election|2001 general election]], the party secured 12.6% of the vote and 65 deputies in the [[Sejm]], making it the largest opposition party to the government led by the [[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|Democratic Left Alliance]] (SLD). In the [[2002 Polish local elections|2002 local elections]], PO stood together with [[Law and Justice]] in 15 voivodeships (in 14 as [[POPiS]], in Podkarpacie with another centre-right political parties). They stood separately only in Mazovia.

The POPiS coalition won 12% of the popular vote nationally, which was well below the expectations. [[Ludwik Dorn]], the chairman of the PiS parliamentary club at the time, remarked: "Together, we gained as much as the PO itself collected a year earlier." This marked the point at which PO and PiS, until now ideological and political allies, started to grow apart. The leadership of PiS decided that it had to distance itself from PO and change its ideology in order to increase its popular support.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Process of Acquiring Political Relevance of Law and Justice Elections |first=Michał |last=Budny |publisher=Institute of Local Initiatives |journal=Political Preferences |year=2022 |volume=30 |issue=2 |doi=10.31261/polpre.2022.2.45-59 |page=50|doi-access=free }}</ref> 

In 2005, PO led all opinion polls with 26% to 30% of public support. However, in the [[2005 Polish parliamentary election|2005 general election]], in which it was led by [[Jan Rokita]], PO polled only 24.1% and unexpectedly came second to the 27% garnered by [[Law and Justice]] (PiS). A [[centre-right]] coalition of PO and PiS (nicknamed [[POPiS]]) was deemed most likely to form a government after the election. Yet the putative coalition parties had a falling out in the wake of the fiercely contested [[2005 Polish presidential election|Polish presidential election of 2005]]. 

In the 2005 elections, PiS attacked PO by campaigning on a difference between "liberal Poland" and its "social Poland". The former was marked by economic liberalism, austerity, deregulation and "serving the rich". In contrast, Law and Justice stressed its "social" character, pledging policies that would help the poor. The party attacked Civic Platform's flat tax proposal and advocated a much more active role of the state in the economy. Law and Justice also made "an offer to the left", stressing its economically left-wing policies.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Electoral Studies |volume=26 |year=2007 |title=The 2005 parliamentary and presidential elections in Poland |first=Frances |last=Millard |publisher=University of Essex |location=Colchester |page=213|doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2006.03.001 }}</ref> 

Ultimately, [[Lech Kaczyński]] (PiS) won the second round of the presidential election on 23 October 2005 with 54% of the vote, ahead of Tusk, the PO candidate. Due to the demands of PiS for control of all the armed ministries (the Defence Ministry, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the office of the prime minister, PO and PiS were unable to form a coalition. Instead, PiS formed a coalition government with the support of the [[League of Polish Families]] (LPR) and [[Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland]] (SRP). PO became the opposition to this PiS-led coalition government.

===Ruling government (2007–2015)===
The PiS-led coalition fell apart in 2007 amid a corruption scandal involving [[Andrzej Lepper]] and [[Tomasz Lipiec]]<ref>{{cite news| url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7054912.stm| title = BBC News (2007-10-22): Massive win for Polish opposition| date = 22 October 2007}}</ref> and internal leadership disputes. These events led to new elections, and in the 21 October 2007 [[2007 Polish parliamentary election|parliamentary election]] PO won 41.51% of the popular vote and 209 out of 460 seats in the [[Sejm]] and 60 out of 100 seats in the [[Senate of Poland]]. Civic Platform, now the largest party in both houses of parliament, subsequently formed a coalition with the [[Polish People's Party]] (PSL).

Despite declaring the parliamentary election campaign the will to limit taxation in Poland,<ref name="Standard"/> the Civic Platform implemented an ideologically diverse set of policies - it increased the excise imposed on diesel oil, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and oil.{{refn|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forsal.pl/artykuly/736318,rzad-podwyzsza-akcyze-i-zamraza-place.html|title=ząd podwyższa akcyzę i zamraża płace|access-date=31 August 2014|date=2 October 2013 |publisher=forsal.pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://wyborcza.biz/biznes/1,101562,10692214,Rzad_zaciska_pasa__zamraza_pensje__podnosi_akcyze.html|title=Rząd zaciska pasa: zamraża pensje, podnosi akcyzę na papierosy i paliwa|access-date=31 August 2014|date=23 October 2011|publisher=wyborcza.biz}}</ref>}} It had also eliminated [[tax exemption]]s.{{refn|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bankier.pl/wiadomosc/Dzis-dowiemy-sie-dlaczego-rzad-zabierze-nam-ulgi-2578419.html|title=Dziś dowiemy się, dlaczego rząd zabierze nam ulgi|access-date=31 August 2014|date=26 July 2012|publisher=bankier.pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mamstartup.pl/poradnik/5299/zmiany-w-odliczaniu-vat-od-samochodow-sprawdz-ile-i-kiedy-mozesz-odliczyc|author=Sebastian Bobrowski|title=Zmiany w odliczaniu VAT od samochodów. Sprawdź ile i kiedy możesz odliczyć|access-date=31 August 2014|date=25 March 2014|publisher=mamstartup.pl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419025848/http://mamstartup.pl/poradnik/5299/zmiany-w-odliczaniu-vat-od-samochodow-sprawdz-ile-i-kiedy-mozesz-odliczyc|archive-date=19 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sejm.gov.pl/sejm7.nsf/agent.xsp?symbol=glosowania&nrkadencji=7&nrposiedzenia=3&nrglosowania=25|title=Głosowanie nad przyjęciem w całości projektu ustawy o zmianie niektórych ustaw związanych z realizacją ustawy budżetowej, w brzmieniu proponowanym przez Komisję Finansów Publicznych, wraz z przyjętymi poprawkami|date=16 December 2011|access-date=31 August 2014|publisher=sejm.gov.pl}}</ref>}} 

At the [[2010 Polish presidential election]], following the [[2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash|Smolensk air disaster]] which killed the incumbent Polish president [[Lech Kaczyński]], Tusk decided not to present his candidature, considered an easy possible victory over PiS leader [[Jarosław Kaczyński]]. During the PO [[2010 Civic Platform presidential primary|primary election]]s, [[Bronisław Komorowski]] defeated Foreign Minister [[Radosław Sikorski]]. At the polls, Komorowski defeated [[Jarosław Kaczyński]], ensuring PO dominance over the contemporary Polish political landscape.<ref name=WBJ>[http://www.wbj.pl/blog/The_business_of_politics/post-254-civic-platform-almighty.htm Warsaw Business Journal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220053333/http://www.wbj.pl/blog/The_business_of_politics/post-254-civic-platform-almighty.htm |date=20 December 2010 }}</ref>

In November 2010, local elections granted Civic Platform about 30.1 percent of the votes and PiS at 23.2 percent, an increase for the former and a drop for the latter compared to the 2006 elections.<ref name=WBJ/> PO succeeded in winning four consecutive elections, and Tusk remained as [[kingmaker]]. PO's dominance was also a reflection of left-wing weakness and divisions on both sides of the political scene, with PiS suffering a splinter in Autumn 2010.<ref name="WBJ" /> Civic Platform won the plurality of votes in the [[2011 Polish parliamentary election|9 October 2011 parliamentary election]], gaining 39.18% of the popular vote, 207 of 460 seats in the Sejm, and 63 out of 100 seats in the Senate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wybory2011.pkw.gov.pl/wsw/en/000000.html|title=Elections 2011 - Election results|publisher=National Electoral Commission|access-date=20 November 2011}}</ref>

In the [[2014 European Parliament election in Poland|2014 European elections]], Civic Platform came first place nationally, achieving 32.13% of the vote and returning 19 [[Member of the European Parliament|MEPs]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pe2014.pkw.gov.pl/pl/ |title=Pkw {{pipe}} Pkw |publisher=Pe2014.pkw.gov.pl |access-date=16 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140824100453/http://pe2014.pkw.gov.pl/pl/ |archive-date=24 August 2014}}</ref> In the [[2014 Polish local elections|2014 local elections]], PO achieved 179 seats, the highest single number.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvn24.pl/r/490976|title=Oficjalne wyniki wyborów samorządowych. Zobacz, kto wygrał|website=TVN24.pl|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> In the [[2015 Polish presidential election|2015 presidential election]], PO endorsed [[Bronisław Komorowski]], a former member of PO from 2001 till 2010. He lost the election receiving 48.5% of the popular vote, while [[Andrzej Duda]] won with 51.5%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gloswielkopolski.pl/oficjalne-wyniki-wyborow-2015-bronislaw-komorowski-wzial-poznan-i-wielkopolske-infografika/ar/3857949#wybory-prezydenckie-2015|title=Oficjalne wyniki wyborów 2015: Bronisław Komorowski wziął Poznań i Wielkopolskę [INFOGRAFIKA]|last=Jęczmionka|first=Paulina|website=Gloswielkopolski.pl|date=11 May 2015 |language=pl|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref>

===Opposition (2015–2023)===
In the [[2015 Polish parliamentary election|2015 parliamentary election]], PO came in second place, after PiS, achieving 24.09% of the popular vote, 138 out of 460 seats in the Sejm, and 34 out of 100 seats in the Senate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/wybory-parlamentarne-2015-pkw-podala-ostateczne-wyniki/zqe59j|title=Wybory parlamentarne 2015. PKW podała ostateczne wyniki|date=27 October 2015|website=Onet Wiadomości|language=pl|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> In the [[2018 Polish local elections|2018 local elections]], PO achieved 26.97% of the votes, coming second after PiS.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/wybory-samorzadowe-2018-relacja-na-zywo-i-wyniki-wyborow/dm4sj65|title=Znamy wyniki wyborów! Relacja na żywo. Wybory samorządowe 2018|date=20 October 2018|website=www.fakt.pl|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref> In the [[2019 European Parliament election in Poland|2019 European elections]], PO participated in the [[European Coalition (Poland)|European Coalition]] electoral alliance which achieved 38.47%, coming second after PiS.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvn24.pl/r/939086|title=Oficjalne wyniki wyborów do europarlamentu|website=TVN24.pl|access-date=14 August 2019}}</ref> On 1 October 2023, it held The Million Hearts march in Warsaw.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jan Cienski  |date=1 October 2023 |title=Huge but glum: Poland's opposition puts a million people on the streets |language=en |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-tusk-million-hearts-civic-coalition-warsaw/ |access-date=16 October 2023}}</ref>

===Return to power (2023–2025) and unification===
The Civic Platform returned to power in a [[Third Cabinet of Donald Tusk|coalition]] with the [[Polish People's Party]], [[Poland 2050]] and [[New Left (Poland)|New Left]] in the [[2023 Polish parliamentary election|2023 parliamentary election]].

{{main|Civic Coalition unification congress}}
In October 2025, the party announed its plans to merge into a new party with two of its smaller coalition partners, [[Modern (political party)|Modern]] and [[Polish Initiative]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-03 |title=Partię Donalda Tuska czeka rewolucja. Będzie nowa nazwa i logo |url=https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/partie-donalda-tuska-czeka-rewolucja-bedzie-nowa-nazwa-i-logo/r6m81jk |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=wiadomosci.onet.pl |language=pl}}</ref> The unification convention was held on 25 October 2025, where the three parties merged into a single party known as the [[Civic Coalition (party)|Civic Coalition]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/kraj/news-koniec-platformy-obywatelskiej-tusk-przedstawil-nowe-ugrupow,nId,22435328 |title=Koniec Platformy Obywatelskiej. Tusk przedstawił nowe ugrupowanie |first=Piotr |last=Bałczyk |website=[[Interia]] |language=pl |date=25 October 2025}}</ref> Some members of the 2018 electoral alliance Civic Coalition, such as the [[The Greens (Poland)|Greens]], opted to remain a separate party.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,32351254,sobota-koniec-platformy-obywatelskiej.html |title=Tusk: Od dzisiaj nazywamy się Koalicja Obywatelska, bo jako KO wygrywaliśmy już wybory i wygramy następne |first=Iwona |last=Szpala |language=pl |website=[[Gazeta Wyborcza]] |date=25 October 2025}}</ref> The leader of the new party became Donald Tusk,<ref name="leader_ko">{{cite web |url=https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2025-10-25/koniec-platformy-obywatelskiej-premier-oglasza-rzecz-nielatwa/ |website=[[Polsat]] |date=25 October 2025 |title=Koniec Platformy Obywatelskiej, premier ogłasza. "Rzecz niełatwa" |language=pl |quote=Nowa formacja w polskiej polityce. Na czele Donald Tusk.}}</ref> and the new party is to complete its leadership election on 26 January 2026.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2025-10-25/koniec-platformy-obywatelskiej-premier-oglasza-rzecz-nielatwa/ |website=[[Polsat]] |date=25 October 2025 |title=Koniec Platformy Obywatelskiej, premier ogłasza. "Rzecz niełatwa" |language=pl}}</ref> The creation of Civic Coalition marked the dissolution of the Civic Platform.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://polskieradio24.pl/artykul/3598428,platforma-obywatelska-znika-ze-sceny-politycznej-nowa-formula-wedlug-tuska |language=pl |title=Platforma Obywatelska znika ze sceny politycznej. Nowa formuła według Tuska |last=Pietruszka |first=Radek |website=[[Polskie Radio 24]] |date=25 October 2025 |quote=Powstanie nowej formacji oznacza zakończenie działalności Platformy Obywatelskiej funkcjonującej pod tą nazwą od blisko 25 lat. |trans-quote=The creation of the new party marks the end of the Civic Platform, which has operated under this name for nearly 25 years.}}</ref>

==Ideology==
[[File:Marsz 4 czerwca 2023 - Platforma Obywatelska banner.jpg|thumb|Civic Platform banner carried during the opposition march on 4 June 2023]]
The Civic Platform was mainly described as a [[centre-right]] political party.{{refn|<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1475-6765.70014 |title=Anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric and electoral outcomes under the shadow of war: Evidence from Poland's 2023 parliamentary election |year=2025 |doi=10.1111/1475-6765.70014 |volume=64 |issue=4 |journal=[[European Journal of Political Research]] |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley Publishing]] |issn=1475-6765 |first1=Phillip M. |last1=Ayoub |first2=Douglas |last2=Page |first3=Samuel |last3=Whitt |page=1 |quote=In that election, competing coalitions led by the centre-right-liberal opposition Civic Platform(PO) and the incumbent right-wing-conservative PiS diverged over values like tolerance of LGBTIQ rights, all amid the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Differentiation and Dominance in Europe's Poly-Crises |chapter=From Division towards Convergence? Comparing Crises Discourses on Migration in the Polish Parliament |first=Elodie |last=Thevenin |editor1=Jozef Bátora |editor2=John Erik Fossum |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2025 |isbn=978-1-003-29119-0 |doi=10.4324/9781003291190 |location=New York |page=261 |quote=This is the case of the Civic Coalition, which has members in both the centre-right family (PO, Nowoczesna, and iPL) and in the left (PZ).}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Żuk |first1=Piotr |last2=Pacześniak |first2=Anna |year=2022 |title=Is it possible to defeat right-wing populist authorities by winning elections? The erosion of democracy and the system of the triple-masters class in Poland |doi=10.3389/fpos.2022.1040616 |journal=Frontiers in Political Science |volume=4 |issue=1 |page=7 |doi-access=free |quote=This center-right party formed in 2001 combines economic neoliberalism with social conservatism. Most of all, PO wants to appear as a champion of pragmatism, modernization and European integration.}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Poland: Background and U.S. Relations |date=10 July 2025 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |first=Derek E. |last=Mix |page=2 |quote=Prime Minister Donald Tusk of the center-right Civic Platform (PO) party has led a coalition government in Poland since 2023. |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R45784/R45784.5.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=IZA DP Discussion Paper Series |issue=18157 |first1=Joanna |last1=Clifton-Sprigg |first2=Ines |last2=Homburg |first3=Sunčica |last3=Vujić |year=2025 |title=Refugee Exposure and Political Backlash: Poland During the Russia-Ukraine War |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep72445.pdf?acceptTC=true&coverpage=false&addFooter=false |issn=2365-9793 |location=Bonn |publisher=Institute of Labor Economics |page=11 |quote=The main opposition party is the centre-right liberal Civic Platform.}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |url=https://thinkeuropa.dk/files/media/document/The_Green_State-of-the_Nation%28s%29_POLAND.pdf |title=The Green State of the Nation(s): Poland |first1=Ditte Brasso |last1=Sørensen |first2=Emmanuel Molding |last2=Nielsen |first3=Anna |last3=Wentzer |publisher=Think Europa |page=3 |quote=In December 2023, Donald Tusk returned to power as Prime Minister in Poland leading a coalition of parties – the Civic Coalition – comprising his own centre-right party, Civic Platform, Modern, a broadly liberal party, and The Left, itself a coalition of left-wing parties.}}</ref><ref name="oleart">{{cite book |title=Populist Parties and Democratic Resilience: A Cross-National Analysis of Populist Parties' Impact on Democratic Pluralism in Europe |editor1=Ben Crum |editor2=Alvaro Oleart |publisher=Routledge |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-003-27132-1 |doi=10.4324/9781003271321 |location=New York |page=44 |quote=The major opposition party represented in the parliament, the Civic Platform, represents moderate conservative values (centre-right). The party is clearly pro-European. On the socio-economic dimension it has pursued de-regulatory practices combined with moderate redistribution. |chapter=Explaining democratic backsliding in Poland: The interplay of party-specific and contextual factors |first1=Aleksandra |last1=Maatsch}}</ref><ref name="kaminski_198"/><ref name="zuk"/><ref name="hanley_436">{{cite journal |author1=Sean Hanley |author2=Aleks Szczerbiak |author3=Tim Haughton |author4=Brigid Fowler |year=2008 |title=Sticking Together: Explaining Comparative Centre—Right Party Success in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe |doi=10.1177/1354068808090253 |language=en |journal=Party Politics |volume=14 |issue=4 |issn=1426-8876 |page=436 |s2cid=16727049 |quote="This argument also seems broadly confirmed taking into account more recent developments in Poland where both large newer centre-right parties, Civic Platform and Law and Justice, have developed more complex ideological narratives centring on the nature of post-communist transformation."}}</ref><ref name="paczesniak_198">{{cite journal |author1=Anna Pacześniak |author2=Michał Jacuński |author3=Jean-Michel De Waele |year=2012 |title=Ideological Identification of Medium–Level Party Cadres in Poland |doi=10.15804/ppsy2012019 |language=en |journal=Polish Political Science Yearbook |volume=41 |issue=1 |issn=0208-7375 |page=383 |quote="Since 2005 the main political competitors have been two parties with Solidarity roots enjoying the highest electoral support: the right–wing Law and Justice (PiS) and the centre–right Civic Platform (PO)."|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="centre-right">PO has often been described as centre-right:
* {{cite web|url=https://politicalcritique.org/cee/poland/2017/tusk-vs-kaczynski-explaining-the-conflict/|title=Tusk VS Kaczynski, explaining the conflict.|date=4 May 2017 |access-date=10 June 2023}}
* {{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQrc_4-H11QC&pg=PA191|author=Nathaniel Copsey|chapter=Poland:An Awkward Partner Redeemed|editor1=Simon Bulmer|editor2=Christian Lequesne|title=The Member States of the European Union|edition=Second|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|page=191|isbn=9780199544837}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FW5RbXxRMj4C&pg=PA2|author=Aleks Szczerbiak|title=Poland Within the European Union: New awkward partner or new heart of Europe?|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|page=2|isbn=9780415380737}}
* {{cite news|last=Viktor|first=Szary |date=9 September 2014|title=Poland's PM Tusk, heading for Brussels, submits resignation|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-poland-government-resignation-idUKKBN0H41SY20140909|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|access-date=7 December 2014}}</ref>{{refn|Some sources have described PO as having shifted from the centre-right to the centre.<ref name="sussex">{{cite journal|last=Szczerbiak|first=Aleks|date=30 November 2016|title=An anti-establishment backlash that shook up the party system? The October 2015 Polish parliamentary election|journal=European Politics and Society|volume=18|issue=4|pages=404–427|doi=10.1080/23745118.2016.1256027|s2cid=157951515 |url=http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/63809/1/Polish%20parliamentary%20election%202015%20EPS%20revised.pdf |quote=As discussed below, under Mr Tusk's leadership, Civic Platform turned from being a centre-right liberal-conservative party into an ideologically eclectic centrist grouping...}}</ref>}}}} Due to the peculiarity of Polish politics, as a major liberal opponent of the conservative PiS, the party was also classified as [[centrist]]<ref name="centrist">PO has often been described as centrist:
* {{cite journal|last=Szczerbiak|first=Aleks|date=2017|title=An anti-establishment backlash that shook up the party system? The October 2015 Polish parliamentary election|journal=European Politics and Society|volume=18|issue=4|pages=404–427|doi=10.1080/23745118.2016.1256027|s2cid=157951515|url=http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/63809/1/Polish%20parliamentary%20election%202015%20EPS%20revised.pdf}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Marcinkiewicz|first1=Kamil|last2=Stegmaier|first2=Mary|date=8 January 2016|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290220555|format=PDF|title=The parliamentary election in Poland, October 2015|journal=[[Electoral Studies]]|volume=41|pages=221–224|doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2016.01.004}}
* {{cite journal|last=Siemsen|first=Pascal|date=2020|title=Voting PiS: Voting Left when Voting Far-Right Populist?|journal=Polish Political Science Review|volume=8|issue=1|pages=87–99|doi=10.2478/ppsr-2020-0006|doi-access=free}}</ref> or [[centre-left]],<ref name="centre-left">PO has often been described as centre-left:
* {{cite news|url=https://www.cmi.no/publications/6861-the-perfect-enemy-from-migrants-to-sexual-minorities |title=The perfect enemy: From migrants to sexual minorities |quote=The tactic worked well for the PiS is in 2015 when anti-migrant rhetoric drummed up the party´s support before its election defeat of the governing centre-left Civic Platform. |work=CHR Michelsen Institute |date=2019 |access-date=28 February 2023}}
* {{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/poland-s-ruling-party-picks-lgbtq-rights-election-battlefront-n983681 |title=Poland's ruling party picks LGBTQ rights as election battlefront |quote=The tactic worked for PiS previously, analysts said, noting how in 2015 it used anti-migrant rhetoric to drum up support before its election defeat of the governing center-left Civic Platform. |work=[[NBC News]] |date=15 March 2019 |access-date=28 February 2023}}
* {{cite book|editor=Sharon L. Wolchik, Jane Leftwich Curry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V0hQDwAAQBAJ |title=Central and East European Politics: From Communism to Democracy |quote= A movement spearheaded by young people to get out the vote brought the more policy-focused center left Civic Platform to power. |date=2018 |page=234 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781538100899 }}</ref> although since 2023 the party is considered to have shifted back towards the centre-right.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.brightblue.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Right-road.pdf |title=The right road: The future of the European centre-right |first1=Bartek |last1=Staniszewski |first2=William |last2=Prescott |first3=Joe |last3=Harrison |first4=Ryan |last4=Shorthouse |isbn=978-1-911128-80-9 |date=June 2025 |publisher=Konrad Adenauer Stiftung |journal=[[Bright Blue (organisation)|Bright Blue]] |page=206 |quote="PO’s shift back towards the centre-right, 2023-2025: As it stands, Tusk’s grand coalition, despite Tusk having campaigned on a centre-left platform, is proving surprisingly centre-right. Trzecia Droga controls 12 of the 38 ministries in Tusk’s cabinet as well as the important position of Speaker – despite representing only a quarter of the coalition’s voters – while Tusk himself has embraced increasingly right-leaning policy after his electoral victory."}}</ref> It has also been described as [[liberal-conservative]],<ref name="hanley_417">{{cite journal |author1=Sean Hanley |author2=Aleks Szczerbiak |author3=Tim Haughton |author4=Brigid Fowler |year=2008 |title=Sticking Together: Explaining Comparative Centre—Right Party Success in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe |doi=10.1177/1354068808090253 |language=en |journal=Party Politics |volume=14 |issue=4 |issn=1426-8876 |page=417 |s2cid=16727049 |quote="Instead, three new centre-right and right-wing parliamentary parties emerged: the liberal-conservative Civic Platform (PO), the national-social conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, and the clerical-nationalist League of Polish Families (LPR)."}}</ref><ref name="bale_2008">{{cite journal |author1=Tim Bale |author2=Aleks Szczerbiak |year=2008 |title=Why Is There No Christian Democracy in Poland — and Why Should We Care? |doi=10.1177/1354068808090256 |language=en |journal=Party Politics |volume=14 |issue=4 |issn=1460-3683 |page=491 |s2cid=143595310 |url=http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/2728 |quote="At root, Civic Platform is a right-wing liberal or liberal-conservative, rather than an archetypal Christian Democratic, party."}}</ref><ref name="liberal-conservative">{{bulleted list|{{cite web|url=https://www.derstandard.at/story/2084941/wahlkampf-attacken-im-konservativen-lager|language=german|title=Wahlkampf Attacken im konservativen Lager|access-date=29 June 2023}}|{{cite book|author1=Vít Hloušek|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K79sdX-amEgC&pg=PA30|title=Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared|author2=Lubomír Kopeček|publisher=Ashgate|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7546-7840-3|page=30|access-date=9 February 2013}}|{{cite journal|last1=Hanley|first1=Seán|last2=Szczerbiak|first2=Aleks|last3=Haughton|first3=Tim|last4=Fowler|first4=Brigid|date=July 2008|title=Explaining Comparative Centre-Right Party Success in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe|url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/15030/1/15030.pdf|journal=Party Politics|volume=14|issue=4|pages=407–434|doi=10.1177/1354068808090253|s2cid=16727049}}|{{cite journal|last1=Seleny|first1=Anna|date=July 2007|title=Communism's Many Legacies in East-Central Europe|journal=Journal of Democracy|volume=18|issue=3|pages=156–170|doi=10.1353/jod.2007.0056|s2cid=154971163}}|{{cite book|author=Igor Guardiancich|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I5MjBT9lQLwC&pg=PA144|title=Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe: From Post-Socialist Transition to the Global Financial Crisis|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-0-415-68898-7|page=144}}|{{cite book|author1=Jean-Michel De Waele|title=Europeanisation and Party Politics: How the EU affects Domestic Actors, Patterns and Systems|author2=Anna Pacześniak|publisher=ECPR Press|year=2012|isbn=978-1-907301-84-1|editor=Erol Külahci|page=131|chapter=The Europeanisation of Poland's Political Parties and Party System|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H8T9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA131}}|{{cite book|author=Aleks Szczerbiak|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNa6l58HNWoC|title=Post-Communist EU Member States: Parties and Party Systems|publisher=Ashgate|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7546-4712-6|editor=Susanne Jungerstam-Mulders|location=London|page=95|chapter=Power without Love? Patterns of Party Politics in Post-1989 Poland}}}}</ref> [[Christian democratic]],<ref name="molendowska">{{cite journal |author1=Magdalena M. Molendowska |year=2017 |title=Christian Democracy in Poland (19th–21st Century) |language=en |journal=Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, Sectio K – Politologia |volume=24 |issue=1 |doi=10.17951/k.2017.24.1.179 |pages=180–196|s2cid=158351234 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="kowalczyk_250">{{cite journal |last=Kowalczyk |first=Krzysztof |year=2015 |title=Stanowiska polskich partii politycznych wobec religii i Kościoła. Propozycja typologii |issn=2353-9747 |journal=Studia Politicae Universitatis Silesiensis |volume=15 |issue=1 |publisher=University of Silesia in Katowice |language=pl |page=250 |quote="When it was established in 2001, the Civic Platform (PO) referred to liberal and conservative values. In its ideological declaration, Christian values were recognised as one of the canons."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=José Magone|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g73UtvxJsFcC&pg=PA457|title=Contemporary European Politics: A Comparative Introduction|publisher=Routledge|year=2010|isbn=978-0-203-84639-1|page=457|access-date=19 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 May 2019|title=Poland's PiS smashes opposition in European election vote|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-law-and-justice-pis-jaroslaw-kaczynski-wins-european-election/|access-date=27 December 2021|website=POLITICO|language=en-US}}</ref> [[conservative]],<ref name="Castle2015">{{cite book|author=Marjorie Castle|title=Politics in Europe|publisher=CQ Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4833-2305-3|editor1=M. Donald Hancock|page=636|chapter=Poland|editor2=Christopher J. Carman|editor3=Marjorie Castle|editor4=David P. Conradt|editor5=Raffaella Y. Nanetti|editor6=Robert Leonardi|editor7=William Safran|editor8=Stephen White|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KmAXBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA636}}</ref><ref name="Standard"/> [[conservative-liberal]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://politicalcritique.org/cee/poland/2017/tusk-vs-kaczynski-explaining-the-conflict/ |title=Tusk Vs Kaczyński: Explaining the Conflict  |work=[[Krytyka Polityczna|Political Critique]] |date=4 May 2017 |access-date=21 February 2023|quote=It was actually a conservative liberal party, with a moderate conservative agenda, and moderately anti-communist.}}</ref><ref>{{bulleted list|{{cite book|last=Slomp|first=Hans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LmfAPmwE6YYC&pg=PA549|title=Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2011|isbn=9780313391828|page=549|language=en|access-date=24 April 2019}}|{{cite book|author=Mart Laar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CM9QCOrlyOMC&pg=PA229|title=The Power of Freedom - Central and Eastern Europe after 1945|publisher=Unitas Foundation|year=2010|isbn=978-9949-21-479-2|page=229}}|{{cite book|author=Joanna A. Gorska|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BIowWvWUXvQC&pg=PA104|title=Dealing with a Juggernaut: Analyzing Poland's Policy toward Russia, 1989-2009|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2012|isbn=978-0-7391-4534-0|page=104}}|{{cite book|author=Bartek Pytlas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOC9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30|title=Radical Right Parties in Central and Eastern Europe: Mainstream Party Competition and Electoral Fortune|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=978-1-317-49586-4|page=30}}|{{cite web|author=Florian Kellermann|url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/neue-partei-in-polen-fruehling-macht-der-linken-mitte.1773.de.html?dram:article_id=440070|title="Frühling" macht der linken Mitte Hoffnung|date=4 February 2019|website=[[Deutschlandfunk]]}}}}</ref>  [[classical-liberal]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S8ICDAAAQBAJ&q=%22Civic&pg=PA207|author=Alan G. Smith|title=A Comparative Introduction to Political Science: Contention and Cooperation|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2016|page=207|isbn=9781442252608}}</ref> [[Liberalism|liberal]],<ref>{{bulleted list|{{cite book|author=Paul Kubicek|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dAcqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA257|title=European Politics|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn=978-1-317-20638-5|page=257}}|{{cite book|author=Tomasz Zarycki|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygAkAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA206|title=Ideologies of Eastness in Central and Eastern Europe|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn=978-1-317-81857-1|page=206}}|{{Cite news|last1=Charlish|first1=Alan|last2=Koper|first2=Anna|date=3 July 2021|title=Poland's Tusk returns to frontline to face old foe Kaczynski|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polands-tusk-returns-frontline-vowing-lead-opposition-victory-2021-07-03/|access-date=27 December 2021}}|{{Cite web|date=15 September 2017|title=Poland's rightwing government takes control of NGO funding|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20170915-polands-rightwing-government-takes-control-ngo-funding|access-date=27 December 2021|website=France 24|language=en}}|{{Cite web|date=3 July 2021|title=Poland's Tusk returns to frontline, vowing to lead opposition to victory|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/07/03/us-poland-politics|access-date=27 December 2021|website=euronews|language=en}}|{{cite book|author=David Ost|title=The New Politics of European Civil Society|publisher=Routledge|year=2011|isbn=978-0-415-57845-5|editor1=Ulrike Liebert|page=177|chapter=The decline of civil society after 'post-communism'|editor2=Hans-Jörg Trenz|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bS8Ms0OZl3cC&pg=PA177}}}}</ref> and [[social-liberal]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Explainer: Whatever happened to Polish liberal conservatives?|url=https://polandin.com/38964630/explainer-whatever-happened-to-polish-liberal-conservatives|website=Polandin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Szczepański|first=Jarosław|title=Raport z badania : trójkąt ideologiczny|date=2015|publisher=Wydział Dziennikarstwa i Nauk Politycznych UW|others=Uniwersytet Warszawski. Wydział Dziennikarstwa i Nauk Politycznych|isbn=978-83-63183-98-1|location=Warszawa|oclc=939904795}}</ref> It was also described as [[Realpolitik|pragmatic]] and [[big tent]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=4 May 2017|title=Is Poland's Civic Platform a serious threat to the ruling party?|url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2017/05/04/is-polands-civic-platform-a-serious-threat-to-the-ruling-party/|access-date=27 December 2021|website=EUROPP}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Riishøj|first=Søren|date=2011|title=The Civic Platform in Poland - the first decade 2001-2011|url=https://www.sdu.dk/-/media/files/om_sdu/institutter/statskundskab/skriftserie/sri+civic+platform_hjemmeside.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227005203/https://www.sdu.dk/-/media/files/om_sdu/institutter/statskundskab/skriftserie/sri+civic+platform_hjemmeside.pdf|archive-date=27 December 2021|publisher=University of Southern Denmark|issn=1399-7319}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Szczerbiak|first=Aleks|date=18 January 2016|title=What Are The Prospects For Poland's Opposition?|url=https://socialeurope.eu/what-are-the-prospects-for-polands-opposition|access-date=27 December 2021|website=Social Europe|language=en-GB}}</ref> It supported Poland's membership in the [[European Union]].<ref name="Ingo Peters 2011 2802">{{cite book|author=Ingo Peters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L3LsDJWq7DAC&pg=PA280|title=20 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Transitions, State Break-Up and Democratic Politics in Central Europe and Germany|publisher=BWV Verlag|year=2011|isbn=978-3-8305-1975-1|page=280|access-date=6 February 2013}}</ref>

Since 2007, when Civic Platform formed the government, the party has gradually moved from its Christian-democratic stances, and many of its politicians hold more liberal positions on social issues. In 2013, the Civic Platform's government introduced public funding of ''[[in vitro]]'' fertilization program. Civic Platform also supported [[civil union]]s for same-sex couples but is against [[same-sex marriage]] and the [[Same-sex adoption|adoption of children by same-sex couples]]. The party also currently supports [[Abortion in Poland|liberalization of the abortion law]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 February 2021|title=Platforma Obywatelska przedstawia nowe stanowisko w sprawie aborcji|url=https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/platforma-obywatelska-przedstawia-nowe-stanowisko-w-spawie-aborcji/n1qs8m8|access-date=9 March 2021|website=Onet Wiadomości|language=pl}}</ref> which it had opposed while in government.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Premier na Kongresie Kobiet: przeciw radykalnym rozwiązaniom|url=https://polskieradio24.pl/art3_867160|access-date=9 March 2021|website=PolskieRadio24.pl}}</ref> In response to the [[climate crisis]], the Civic Platform pledged to end the use of [[coal]] for [[energy in Poland]] by 2040.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/news/poland-coal-phase-2040-opposition/|title=Poland coal phase out pledged for 2040 by opposition government|date=15 July 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref>

PO was described as [[neoliberal]],<ref name="kaminski_198">{{cite journal |author1=Paweł Kamiński |author2=Patrycja Rozbicka |year=2016 |title=Political Parties and Trade Unions in the Post-Communist Poland: Class Politics that Have Never a Chance to Happen |doi=10.15804/ppsy2016015 |language=en |journal=Polish Political Science Yearbook |volume=45 |issue=1 |issn=0208-7375 |page=198 |quote="Interestingly, though, more of them have supported the neoliberal centre-right Civil Platform, which in power with its coalition partner PSL (Polish Peasants’ Party) since 2008 until 2015."|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="shields_367">{{cite journal |author1=Stuart Shield |year=2012 |title=Opposing Neoliberalism? Poland's Renewed Populism and Post-Communist Transition |doi=10.15804/ppsy2016015 |language=en |journal=Third World Quarterly |volume=33 |issue=2 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41507174 |page=367 |jstor=41507174 |quote="Despite this, the two centre-right parties, the neoliberal Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska - PO) and Law and Justice Party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc - PIS), failed to offer any serious credible alternative."|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="zuk">{{cite journal |author1=Piotr Żuk |author2=Anna Pacześniak |date=15 December 2022 |title=Is it possible to defeat right-wing populist authorities by winning elections? The erosion of democracy and the system of the triple-masters class in Poland |language=en |journal=Frontiers in Political Science |volume=4 |issue=1 |doi=10.3389/fpos.2022.1040616 |page=7 |quote="KO is made up of several parties, the largest of which is Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska—PO). PO was in power twice: from 2007 until 2011 and later, between 2011 and 2015, acting as a senior partner in a coalition with the Polish People’s Party (PSL) and occupied the office of the Prime Minister for two full terms. This center-right party formed in 2001 combines economic neoliberalism with social conservatism." |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Weaponizing The Past: Collective Memory and Jews, Poles, and Communists in Twenty-First-Century Poland |first=Kate |last=Korycki |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-80539-051-0 |doi=10.3167/9781805390503 |page=45 |quote="The PO may be characterized as neoliberal. It seeks to limit the state and promote market solutions to economic and social problems (PO Program 2015). It is mildly less friendly to the church than the PiS, and mildly less socially conservative (Szczerbiak 2008, 2013). It paints itself as progressive (and contrasts this progressivism with the PiS’s conservatism), but this is mostly declarative. While in offi ce, the PO made few moves to limit the church’s infl uence on policy and/or expand civil liberties. For example, the PO has not challenged religious instruction in schools or the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe (Grzymała-Busse 2014, 2015; Stan and Turcescu 2011). Its latest electoral platform includes limits on state financing for the church, but this is a recent development (PO Program 2015: 84). It declared support for same-sex partnerships, only to vote against them. In keeping with its image of openness, the party is staunchly pro-EU, at the level of both declarations and actions (PO Program 2015)." |chapter=Theory Localized, or Dramatis Personae of Polish Politics  |date=2023 }}</ref><ref>PO has often been described as neoliberal:
* {{Cite news|title=Poland's government|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/poland-s-government-1.510232|access-date=27 December 2021|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}
* {{Cite web|last1=Kamiński|first1=Paweł|last2=Rozbicka|first2=Patrycja|date=2016|title=Political Parties and Trade Unions in the Post-Communist Poland: Class Politics that Have Never a Chance to Happen|url=https://publications.aston.ac.uk/id/eprint/29217/1/PPSY45130_Manuscript.pdf}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Shields|first=Stuart|date=April 2012|title=Opposing Neoliberalism? Poland's renewed populism and post-communist transition|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01436597.2012.666016|journal=Third World Quarterly|language=en|volume=33|issue=2|pages=359–381|doi=10.1080/01436597.2012.666016|s2cid=154652204 |issn=0143-6597|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[economically liberal]],<ref name="Standard">{{Cite news|title=Wahlkampf-Attacken im konservativen Lager |url=https://www.derstandard.at/story/2084941/wahlkampf-attacken-im-konservativen-lager|access-date=1 April 2023|newspaper=[[Der Standard]]|language=de|date= 29 June 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title= Zur Lage der Bürgerplattform (PO) in Polen |url=https://www.kas.de/pl/web/polen/laenderberichte/detail/-/content/zur-lage-der-buergerplattform-po-in-polen|access-date=1 April 2023|newspaper=[[Konrad Adenauer Foundation]]|language=de|date= 25 April 2008}}</ref> [[right-liberal|right-wing liberal]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Role of Social Partners in Managing Europes Great Recession: Crisis Corporatism or Corporatism in Crisis? |year=2022 |editor1=Bernhard Ebbinghaus |editor2=J. Timo Weishaupt |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-003-18614-4 |chapter=Unilateral crisis prevention and crumbling social partnership in Poland |first1=Jan |last1=Czarzasty |first2=Adam |last2=Mrozowicki |quote=Based on our analysis of policy documents, opinion polls, and expert interviews with social partners and policymakers, we explore the development of social dialogue during the successive cabinets of Donald Tusk and the government led by Ewa Kopacz, all three representing the coalition of right-wing liberal Civic Platform (PO; Platforma Obywatelska) and the agrarian (christian democratic) Polish People’s Party (PSL; Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe). |page=147}}</ref> and [[fiscal conservatism|fiscally conservative]].<ref>{{Cite news|title= Polish nurses set to strike over low pay  |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/polish-nurses-set-strike-over-low-pay-2/|access-date=1 April 2023|newspaper=[[Politico]]|language=en|date=10 September 2015}}</ref> It represented moderately conservative positions, and pursued deregulatory economic policies.<ref name="oleart"/> The [[Third Cabinet of Donald Tusk]] led by the Civic Platform pursued economic deregulation,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://polanddaily24.com/we-know-who-the-deregulation-experts-are-this-initiative-may-not-be-as-apolitical-as-promised/business-innovation/51979 |title=We Know Who the Deregulation Experts Are. This Initiative May Not Be as "Apolitical" as Promised |date=18 February 2025 |website=Poland Daily 24}}</ref> lowering healthcare tax for business,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/04/04/polands-sejm-approves-bill-to-cut-health-contributions-for-business-owners/ |title=Poland's Sejm approves bill to cut health contributions for business owners |date=4 April 2025 |website=Notes from Poland |first=Alicja |last=Ptak}}</ref> restricting immigration and tax cuts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/05/26/world/politics/polish-president-rally-supporters/ |title=Polish presidential hopefuls rally supporters ahead of election |date=26 May 2025 |first1=Natalia |last1=Ojewska |first2=Piotr |last2=Bujnicki}}</ref> It also pursued [[laissez-faire]] economic policies, such as introducing tax exemptions for self-employed and high earners.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.crossbordertalks.eu/2025/05/28/failing-government-rising-far-right/ |title=Failing government, rising far right, and fragmentation of the Polish duopoly |date=28 May 2025 |first=Wojciech Albert |last=Łobodziński |website=Cross-Border Talks}}</ref>

After becoming the biggest opposition party, the Civic Platform became more [[culturally liberal]] and [[populist]].<ref name="riishoj_30">{{cite journal |author=Søren Riishøj |author-link=:da:Søren Riishøj |year=2010 |title=The Civic Platform in Poland - the first decade 2001-2011 |language=en |journal=Political Science Publications |volume=24 |issue=1 |page=30 |quote="In other words, on the policy and programme level the Civic Platform (PO) developed into a centre-right soft Thatcherite liberal, anti-communist, soft Christian nationalist and populist party."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/polish-politicians-donald-tusk-attack-migrants-for-electoral-gain/|title=Polish politicians attack migrants for electoral gain|date=9 July 2023 |quote="Donald Tusk is toying with anti-migrant language to match the tone of the ruling Law and Justice party.|access-date=15 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/06/06/poland-protests-eu-hungary-spat-show-right-and-wrong-way-to-fight-for-democracy/90103ce0-0421-11ee-b74a-5bdd335d4fa2_story.html|title=There Are Right and Wrong Ways to Fight For Democracy|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=15 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="wrobel_445">{{cite journal |author1=Szymon Wróbel |year=2011 |title=Mourning Populism. The Case of Poland |language=en |journal=Polish Sociological Review |volume=176 |issue=1 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41478893 |pages=445, 448 |jstor=41478893 |quote="On the other hand however, the victory of Civic Platform (CP) [Platforma Obywatelska] in the parliamentary elections in September 2007 had much to do with the promise of a new Ireland, our dream to come true. The fact that it was such a successful message and that it became a true banner of the victory allows us to see CP’s success in terms of populism. (...) If we come back to Laclau’s distinction one could even say that CP’s populism and L&J’s populism seek to attain what Laclau recognizes as unconceivable."}}</ref> This tendency became especially popular among the younger generation of the party's politicians, such as [[mayor of Warsaw]] and presidential candidate [[Rafał Trzaskowski]]. The party has also changed its opinion about the social programs of PiS, starting to support them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/1485161,trzaskowski-program-500-plus-in-vitro-nord-stream-2.html|title= Trzaskowski: 500 plus musi być bronione|work=gazetaprawna.pl|date= 2 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ideologia.pl/program-partii-platforma-obywatelska/|title= Program Partii Platforma Obywatelska|date= 4 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.badaniawyborcze.pl/index.php/wybory/partie-kandydaci|title= Partie i kandydaci
}}</ref> After returning to the government in 2023, the party adopted an [[opposition to immigration|anti-immigration]] stance to migrants coming from Russia and Belarus.<ref name="migration_list">{{bulleted list|{{cite web |url=https://talk.tv/top-stories/49270/donald-tusk-immigration-civilisational-threat |title=Uncontrolled immigration will lead to 'world collapse' warns Poland's new PM Donald Tusk |date=14 February 2024 |quote="During his election campaign, Mr Tusk drew on anti-immigration themes that drew criticism from the country’s left wing for “competing with the far right”." |website=talk.tv}}|{{cite web |url=https://novaramedia.com/2023/10/02/on-migration-the-polish-left-has-all-but-given-up/ |title=On Migration, the Polish Left Has All But Given Up |first1=Dan |last1=Davison |first2=Ewa |last2=Pospieszyńska |date=2 October 2023 |quote="With the Civic Coalition trying to woo Law and Justice voters by repackaging its xenophobia, it falls to the Polish left to change the narrative on immigration." |website=Novara Media}}|{{cite web |url=https://www.intellinews.com/new-poll-indicates-polish-opposition-could-edge-out-pis-in-new-parliament-292244/ |title=New poll indicates Polish opposition could edge out PiS in new parliament |date=11 September 2023 |first=Dawid |last=Kość |quote="In a recent video, KO employed similar images of migration that PiS also used in their overtly anti-immigration materials, both in the current and the previous campaigns." |website=IntelliNews}}|{{cite web |url=https://ecre.org/poland-opposition-takes-majority-in-elections-people-on-the-move-are-victims-of-political-game-at-belarus-border/ |title=Poland: Opposition Takes Majority in Elections, People on the Move are Victims of "Political Game" At Belarus Border |date=20 October 2023 |website=ecre.org |quote="Migration was one of the most heated topics in the election campaign and even the opposition adopted anti-migration rhetoric."}}}}|{{cite web |url=https://oko.press/tusk-zapowiada-zawieszenie-prawa-do-azylu/ |title="A powerful shot from a cannon." Tusk announces suspension of right to asylum |date=12 October 2024 |website=oko.press |quote="There is no surprise, but Prime Minister Tusk went further than expected: he announced the suspension of the right to asylum. He said: “One of the elements of the migration strategy will be a temporary, territorial suspension of the right to asylum, and I will demand recognition in Europe for this decision.}}</ref>

== Organization ==

=== Leadership ===
{| class="wikitable"
! No.
! Image
! Name
! Tenure
|----
| align="center" | '''1'''
| [[File:Maciej Płażyński 2.jpg|80px]]
| [[Maciej Płażyński]]
| 18 October 2001–<br />1 June 2003
|----
| align="center" | '''2'''
| [[File:Donald Tusk (6165309851) (cropped).jpg|80px]]
| [[Donald Tusk]]
| 1 June 2003–<br />8 November 2014
|----
| align="center" | '''3'''
| [[File:Ewa Kopacz debata z Szydło (19.10.2015).jpg|80px]]
| [[Ewa Kopacz]]
| 8 November 2014–<br />26 January 2016
|----
| align="center" | '''4'''
| [[File:Grzegorz Schetyna Sejm 2019.jpg|80px]]
| [[Grzegorz Schetyna]]
| 26 January 2016–<br />29 January 2020
|----
| align="center" | '''5'''
| [[File:Borys Budka Sejm 2016.JPG|80px]]
| [[Borys Budka]]
| 29 January 2020–<br />3 July 2021
|----
| align="center" | '''(2)'''
| [[File:EPP Summit, 29 June, Brussels (53287183894) (cropped) no mic.png|80px]]
| Donald Tusk
| since 3 July 2021
|}

=== Notable politicians ===
<gallery>
Image:Bronisław Komorowski (2).jpg|[[Bronisław Komorowski]] former [[president of Poland]] (2010-2015)
Image:Jerzy Buzek 2015.jpg|[[Jerzy Buzek]] former [[president of the European Parliament]] (2009-2012) and former [[Prime Minister of Poland]] (1997-2001)
Image:MEP Borys Budka during ITRE Committee constitutive meeting (cropped).jpg|[[Borys Budka]] former [[minister of justice]] and leader of Platforma Obywatelska (2020-2021)
Image:Bogdan Borusewicz Kancelaria Senatu 2023.jpg|[[Bogdan Borusewicz]] former [[marshal of the Senate]] (2005-2015)
Image:GRONKIEWICZ-WALTZ Hanna (EPP, PL).jpg|[[Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz]] former [[mayor of Warsaw]] (2006-2018)
Image:EPP_Congress_Bucharest_-_Day_1_IMG_8903_(53571547784)_(cropped).jpg|[[Rafał Trzaskowski]] [[Mayor of Warsaw]] candidate for [[President of Poland]] in [[2020 Polish presidential election|2020]] and [[2025 Polish presidential election|2025]]
Image:Min. Radosław Sikorski 2024 (cropped2).jpg|[[Radosław Sikorski]] [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Poland)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] (2007-2014) (2023-present)
</gallery>

=== Political support ===
{{See also|Poland A and B}}
[[File:Präsidentschaftswahl Polen 2010 Runde 1.svg|thumb|right|300px|Civic Platform's support is concentrated in the west and north of the country.  Areas voting for [[Bronisław Komorowski]] in 2010 are shaded orange above.]]
As of 2020, the party enjoyed the greatest support in large cities and among people with higher education and in managerial positions, while in terms of age, the electorate was evenly distributed,<ref name="biskup">{{cite journal |last=Biskup |first=Bartłomiej |year=2020 |title=Portret wyborców AD 2019. Zmiany w preferencjach elektoratów partyjnych w Polsce |publisher=Warsaw University |doi=10.33896/SPolit.2020.55.13 |language=pl |url=http://www.studiapolitologiczne.pl/pdf-123030-51191?filename=Voter_s%20portrait%20AD.pdf |journal=Studia Politologiczne |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=306–307|s2cid=238178401 }}</ref> and the electoral base of the Civic Platform lay in middle-aged, highly educated [[Gold-collar worker|gold-collar]] and [[white-collar worker|white-collar]] workers of the [[Middle class|middle]] and [[upper-middle class]]es.<ref name="biskup"/> As of 2020, the Civic Platform electorate was made up of more women than men, was disproportionally represented by middle-aged, urban and middle-class voters, and was characterized by higher levels of education, higher position in the socio-professional structure, as well as moderate religiosity and Roman Catholicism.<ref name="zagała_198">{{cite journal |last=Zagała |first=Zbigniew |year=2020 |title=Partie polityczne i ich elektoraty. Od sympatii do antagonizmu. Na przykładzie Platformy Obywatelskiej i Prawa i Sprawiedliwości |publisher=Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM |doi=10.14746/pp.2020.25.2.14 |language=pl |journal=Przegląd Politologiczny |volume=2 |issue=2 |issn=1426-8876 |page=198|s2cid=225679632 |doi-access=free |hdl=10593/25726 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The party consistently enjoyed overwhelming support of workers such as directors, managers and specialists, business owners and co-owners, and administrative workers.<ref name="biskup"/> At the same time, the party underperformed amongst [[blue-collar worker]]s, young voters, farmers and students, as well as unemployed voters.<ref name="biskup"/> In regards to age, Civic Platform performed the best amongst voters aged 40–49, while also performing strongly among 30-39 and 50-59 year olds. The party performs the worst amongst the oldest (aged 60 or more) and the youngest (aged 29 or less) voters.<ref name="biskup"/> The party strongly appealed to urban voters, as almost a half of voters living in big cities (500,000 people or more) vote for Civic Platform; support for the party remains strong in middle-sized cities but strongly declines in small towns and the countryside, as on average only 15% of rural voters support it.<ref name="biskup"/> 

As of 2016, an overwhelming majority of party's supporters (83%) were Roman Catholics, and 44% of these voters partook in religious practices at least once a week.<ref name="secler">{{cite book |last=Secler |first=Bartłomiej |year=2016 |title=Religia i Religijność a Poziom Frekwencji Wyborczej |isbn=978-83-62352-35-7 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Morpho |language=pl |url=https://repozytorium.amu.edu.pl/bitstream/10593/15310/1/Religia%20i%20religinosc%20a%20frekwencja%20wyborcza.pdf |page=109}}</ref> As of 2016, the party was supported by the [[Christian left]], as well as liberal and moderate Catholics,<ref name="secler"/> while most of conservative Catholics in Poland support [[Law and Justice]] instead.<ref name="secler"/> Churchgoing Catholics are roughly evenly split between Civic Platform and Law and Justice, with a significant minority of churchgoers supporting [[Polish People's Party]] as well.<ref name="secler"/> Catholics who support Civic Platform "oppose, on the one hand, the state's enforcement of religious norms and, on the other, do not condone their violation".<ref name="kowalczyk">{{cite journal |last=Kowalczyk |first=Krzysztof |year=2015 |title=Stanowiska polskich partii politycznych wobec religii i Kościoła. Propozycja typologii |issn=2353-9747 |journal=Studia Politicae Universitatis Silesiensis |volume=15 |issue=1 |publisher=University of Silesia in Katowice |language=pl |page=168}}</ref> This is largely consistent with the party's attitude towards religion, which combines a moderately conservative and [[political Catholicism|politically Catholic]] program with left-wing economic slogans, supported by [[Catholic social teaching]] and the teaching of [[John Paul II]] contained in the encyclical [[Centesimus annus]].<ref name="kowalczyk"/>

As of 2020, most of Civic Platform's electorate identified as [[Liberal conservatism|liberal conservative]]s, centrists and moderate conservatives.<ref name="zagała">{{cite journal |last=Zagała |first=Zbigniew |year=2020 |title=Partie polityczne i ich elektoraty. Od sympatii do antagonizmu. Na przykładzie Platformy Obywatelskiej i Prawa i Sprawiedliwości |publisher=Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM
 |doi=10.14746/pp.2020.25.2.14 |language=pl |journal=Przegląd Politologiczny |volume=2 |issue=2 |issn=1426-8876 |pages=193–205|s2cid=225679632 |doi-access=free |hdl=10593/25726 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> No tendency dominates, as the party's supporters are roughly evenly split between political tendencies - 35% of party's supporters identify with [[political centre|political center]], 28% as [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]], and 24% as [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]].<ref name="zagała"/> Throughout the 2010s, Civic Platform had been losing left-wing supporters due to the re-emergence of [[The Left (Poland)|Lewica]] as well as [[Janusz Palikot]]'s defection from the party.<ref name="zagała"/> The party also faced a challenge from [[Modern (political party)|Nowoczesna]], whose vote "came largely from former Civic Platform supporters, disappointed with its failure to shake off its social conservatism".<ref name="koczanowicz">{{cite journal |last=Koczanowicz |first=Leszek |date=December 2016 |title=The Polish Case: Community and Democracy under the PiS |language=en |journal=New Left Review |volume=102 |issue=1 |page=78 }}</ref> According to Janusz Jartyś of the [[University of Szczecin]], the ideological base of Civic Platform are "national-conservative, liberal and social-democratic voters", with each faction expecting "at least partial implementation of their demands, stability in the governance of the country and social peace".<ref name="jartys">{{cite journal |last=Jartyś |first=Janusz |year=2016 |title=Kwestie obyczajowe w programie i działalności Platformy Obywatelskiej Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej |publisher=Uniwersytet Szczeciński |doi=10.18276/ap.2016.35-05 |language=pl |journal=Acta Politica Polonica |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=59–66|doi-access=free }}</ref> According to [[:da:Søren Riishøj|Søren Riishøj]], the party was also unpopular amongst the traditionally social-democratic voters, who were opposed to [[European integration|Europeanisation]] and [[globalization]], and were critical of the Civic Platform's "almost U.S. type of election campaign."<ref name="riishoj">{{cite journal |author=Søren Riishøj |author-link=:da:Søren Riishøj |year=2010 |title=The Civic Platform in Poland - the first decade 2001-2011 |language=en |journal=Political Science Publications |volume=24 |issue=1 |page=15}}</ref>

As of 2021, according to [[Centre for Public Opinion Research|CBOS]], Civic Platform was overwhelmingly popular amongst pro-European voters, with almost 80% of party's supporters wishing to cooperate with the [[European Union]] more.<ref name="cbos">{{cite journal |last=Roguska |first=Beata |date=August 2021 |title=Elektoraty o istotnych kwestiach społeczno-politycznych |publisher=Centre for Public Opinion Research |issn=2353-5822 |language=pl |journal=Komunikat z Badań |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=9–10}}</ref> The party is generally supported by moderates, as most of the party's voters wish for a "compromise" on issues such as abortion.<ref name="cbos"/> Economically, the party is supported by pro-business and welfare-oriented voters alike; while most of Civic Platform's supporters believe that Poland should become a [[welfare state]], they are evenly split on issues such as [[progressive taxation]] and [[flat tax]], and [[nationalization]] vs. [[privatization]].<ref name="cbos"/> The party has also enjoyed the support of [[Regionalism (politics)|regionalists]], [[Regional autonomy|autonomists]] and voters supportive of [[decentralization]] and [[Localism (politics)|localism]] in general.<ref name="cbos"/> Over 90% of Civic Platform supporters believe that local governments should have more power and that the national government should devolve its power to the regional governments of [[gmina]]s and [[voivodeship]]s.<ref name="cbos"/> The party is supported by [[Silesian independence|Silesian regionalists]],<ref name="wyborcza1">{{cite news |last=Jedlecki |language=pl |first=Przemysław |date=8 August 2019 |title=Śląscy autonomiści dołączają do Koalicji Obywatelskiej |url=https://katowice.wyborcza.pl/katowice/7,35063,25070575,slascy-autonomisci-dolaczaja-do-koalicji-obywatelskiej.html?disableRedirects=true |publisher=Wyborcza}}</ref> and had organized joint electoral lists with Silesian parties like [[Silesian Autonomy Movement]] and [[Silesian Regional Party]].<ref name="onet1">{{cite news |last=Pawlik |language=pl |first=Paweł |date=9 August 2019 |title=Ruch Autonomii Śląska na listach Koalicji Obywatelskiej |url=https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/slask/wybory-parlamentarne-2019-ruch-autonomii-slaska-na-listach-koalicji-obywatelskiej/5b75y0t |publisher=Onet}}</ref> Local politicians of the Civic Platform in Silesia are often associated with Silesian regionalism as well.<ref>{{cite web |title=Śląskie Porozumienie Wyborcze nawiązuje współpracę z Koalicją Obywatelską. Śląski wyborca musi mieć pewność, że głos na regionalistów nie będzie głosem zmarnowanym |url=https://autonomia.pl/2019/08/08/slaskie-porozumienie-wyborcze-nawiazuje-wspolprace-z-koalicja-obywatelska-slaski-wyborca-musi-miec-pewnosc-ze-glos-na-regionalistow-nie-bedzie-glosem-zmarnowanym/ |website=autonomia.pl |language=pl|date=8 August 2019}}</ref> The party also enjoys support from the [[Kashubians]] and their local autonomist movement,<ref name="natemat1">{{cite news |last=Noch |language=pl |first=Jakub |date=6 October 2015 |title="Zemsta za Tuska i brak poparcia PiS". Jak i dlaczego Kaszubi jednoczą się przeciw PiS, który chce ich "rozbioru" |url=https://natemat.pl/156931,zemsta-za-tuska-i-niepopieranie-pis-jak-i-dlaczego-kaszubi-jednocza-sie-przeciw-pis-ktory-zaatakowal-ich-wspolnote |publisher=NaTemat}}</ref> with the co-founder of the party, [[Donald Tusk]], having expressed his support for autonomous [[Kashubia]] in 1992.<ref name="tusk1">{{cite news |last=Tusk |first=Donald |author-link=Donald Tusk |date=June 1992 |title=Regionalizm jako samodzielna siła polityczna |language=pl |url=https://bibliotekacyfrowa.eu/Content/2911/Image001.pdf |work=Pomerania |location=Gdańsk}}</ref> 

In March 2023, Tusk stated that [[Silesian language|Silesian]] should be considered a language rather than an [[ethnolect]] as it has unique literature and grammar, and promised to recognize Silesian as an official, statutory language of Upper Silesia.<ref name="bankier_1">{{cite news |date=19 March 2023 |title=Tusk: Śląski będzie językiem regionalnym, też na poziomie ustawowym |url=https://www.bankier.pl/wiadomosc/Tusk-Slaski-bedzie-jezykiem-regionalnym-tez-na-poziomie-ustawowym-8507823.html |publisher=[[:pl:Bankier.pl|Bankier]] |language=pl}}</ref><ref name="pap_1">{{cite news |last1=Konopka |first1=Krzysztof |last2=Mikowski |first2=Mateusz |date=19 March 2023 |title=Tusk: język śląski będzie uznany za język regionalny |url=https://www.pap.pl/aktualnosci/news%2C1550466%2Ctusk-jezyk-slaski-bedzie-uznany-za-jezyk-regionalny.html |publisher=[[Polish Press Agency]]}}</ref> Tusk also declared that he was a regionalist.<ref name="bankier_1"/>

==Election results==

===Presidential===
{| class=wikitable
|-
! rowspan=2|Election year
! rowspan=2|Candidate
! colspan=2|1st round
! colspan=2|2nd round
|-
! # of overall votes
! % of overall vote
! # of overall votes
! % of overall vote
|-
! [[2005 Polish presidential election|2005]]
| [[Donald Tusk]]
| 5,429,666
| 36.3 ('''#1''')
| 7,022,319
| 46.0 (#2)
|-
! [[2010 Polish presidential election|2010]]
| '''[[Bronisław Komorowski]]'''
| 6,981,319
| 41.5 ('''#1''')
| 8,933,887
| 53.0 ('''#1''')
|-
! [[2015 Polish presidential election|2015]]
| ''Supported [[Bronisław Komorowski]]''
| 5,031,060
| 33.8 (#2)
| 8,112,311
| 48.5 (#2)
|-
! [[2020 Polish presidential election|2020]]
| [[Rafał Trzaskowski]]
| 5,917,340
| 30.5 (#2)
| 10,018,263
| 48.9 (#2)
|-
! [[2025 Polish presidential election|2025]]
| [[Rafał Trzaskowski]]
| 6,147,797
| 31.4 ('''#1''')
| 10,237,286
| 49.1 (#2)
|}

===Sejm===
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Election
! Leader
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/–
! Government
|-
! rowspan="3" | [[2001 Polish parliamentary election|2001]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Maciej Płażyński]]
| rowspan="3" | 1,651,099
| rowspan="3" | 12.7 (#2)
| rowspan="3" | {{Composition bar|65|460|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| rowspan="3" |
| {{no2|<small>[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|SLD]]-[[Labour Union (Poland)|UP]]-[[Polish People's Party|PSL]] (2001-2003)</small>}}
|-
| {{no2|<small>[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|SLD]]-[[Labour Union (Poland)|UP]] (2003-2005)</small>}}
|-
|{{no2|<small>[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|SLD]]-[[Labour Union (Poland)|UP]]-[[Social Democracy of Poland|SDPL]] (2004-2005)</small>}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[2005 Polish parliamentary election|2005]]
| rowspan="4" |[[Donald Tusk]]
| rowspan="2" |2,849,259
| rowspan="2" |24.1 (#2)
| rowspan="2" |{{Composition bar|133|460|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| rowspan="2" |{{increase}} 68
| {{no2|{{small|[[Law and Justice (Poland)|PiS]] Minority (2005)}}}}
|-
|{{no2|<small>[[Law and Justice (Poland)|PiS]]–[[Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland|SRP]]–[[League of Polish Families|LPR]] (2006-2007)</small>}}
|-
! [[2007 Polish parliamentary election|2007]]
| 6,701,010
| 41.5 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|209|460|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{increase}} 76
| {{yes2|'''PO'''–[[Polish People's Party|PSL]]}}
|-
! [[2011 Polish parliamentary election|2011]]
| 5,629,773
| 39.2 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|207|460|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
| {{yes2|'''PO'''–[[Polish People's Party|PSL]]}}
|-
! [[2015 Polish parliamentary election|2015]]
|[[Ewa Kopacz]]
| 3,661,474
| 24.1 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|138|460|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{decrease}} 69
| {{no2|[[Law and Justice (Poland)|PiS]]}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2019 Polish parliamentary election|2019]]
| [[Grzegorz Schetyna]]
|5,060,355
|27.4 (#2)
|{{Composition bar|102|460|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
|{{decrease}} 36
| {{no2|[[Law and Justice (Poland)|PiS]]}}
|-
| colspan="6" |<small>As part of [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]], which won 134 seats in total.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2023 Polish parliamentary election|2023]]
| [[Donald Tusk]]
|6,629,402	
|30.7 (#2)
|{{Composition bar|127|460|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
|{{increase}} 25
|{{yes2|[[Civic Coalition (Poland)|'''KO''']]-[[Poland 2050|PL2050]]-[[Polish Coalition|KP]]-[[New Left (Poland)|NL]]}}
|-
| colspan="6" |<small>As part of [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]], which won 157 seats in total.</small>
|}

===Senate===
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Election
! Vtes
! %
! Seats
! +/–
! Majority 
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[2001 Polish parliamentary election|2001]]
| 6,582,224
| 24.34 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|2|100|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
|
| {{no2|[[Democratic Left Alliance – Labour Union|SLD–UP]]}}
|-
| colspan="5" |<small>As part of the [[Senate 2001]] coalition, which won 15 seats.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[2005 Polish parliamentary election|2005]]
| rowspan="2" | 4,090,497
| rowspan="2" | 16.94 (#2)
| rowspan="2" | {{Composition bar|34|100|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| rowspan="2" | {{increase}} 32
| {{partial2|{{small|No majority - [[Law and Justice (Poland)|PiS]] largest (2005)}}}}
|-
| {{no2|<small>[[Law and Justice (Poland)|PiS]]–[[Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland|SRP]]–[[League of Polish Families|LPR]] (2006-2007)</small>}}
|-
! [[2007 Polish parliamentary election|2007]]
| 12,734,742
| 39.14 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|60|100|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{increase}} 26
|{{yes2|'''PO'''}}
|-
! [[2011 Polish parliamentary election|2011]]
| 5,173,300	
| 35.60 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|63|100|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{increase}} 3
| {{yes2|'''PO'''–[[Polish People's Party|PSL]]}}
|-
! [[2015 Polish parliamentary election|2015]]
| 4,323,789
| 28.85 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|34|100|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{decrease}} 29
| {{no2|[[Law and Justice (Poland)|PiS]]}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[2019 Polish parliamentary election|2019]]
| 6,490,306
| 35.66 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|41|100|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{Increase}} 7
| {{yes2|[[Civic Coalition (Poland)|'''KO''']]–[[Polish Coalition|KP]]–[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|SLD]]}}
|-
| colspan="5" |<small>As part of the [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]], which won 43 seats.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[2023 Polish parliamentary election|2023]]
| 6,187,295
| 28.91 (#2)
|{{Composition bar|41|100|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
|{{Steady}} 0
|{{yes2|[[Civic Coalition (Poland)|'''KO''']]–[[Poland 2050|PL2050]]–[[Polish Coalition|KP]]–[[New Left (Poland)|NL]]–[[Left Together|LR]]}}
|-
| colspan="5" |<small>As part of the [[Senate Pact 2023]], which won 66 seats.</small>
|}

===European Parliament===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Election
! Leader
! votes
! %
! Seats
! +/–
! EP Group
|-
! [[2004 European Parliament election in Poland|2004]]
| [[Jerzy Buzek]]
| 1,467,775
| 24.1 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|15|54|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| New
| [[European People's Party - European Democrats|EPP-ED]]
|-
! [[2009 European Parliament election in Poland|2009]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Danuta Hübner]]
| 3,271,852
| 44.4 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|25|50|{{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{increase}} 10
| [[European People's Party Group|EPP]]
|-
! [[2014 European Parliament election in Poland|2014]]
| 2,271,215
| 32.1 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|19|51|{{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{decrease}} 6
| [[European People's Party Group|EPP]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[2019 European Parliament election in Poland|2019]]
| [[Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz]]
| 5,249,935
| 27.89 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|14|51|{{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{decrease}} 5
| [[European People's Party Group|EPP]]
|-
| colspan="7" |<small>As part of the [[European Coalition (Poland)|European Coalition]], that won 22 seats in total.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2"| [[2024 European Parliament election in Poland|2024]]
| [[Marcin Kierwiński]]
| 4,359,443
| 37.04 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|18|51|{{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{increase}} 4
| [[European People's Party Group|EPP]]
|-
| colspan="7" |<small>As part of the [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]], that won 21 seats in total.</small>
|}

===Regional assemblies===

{| class=wikitable
|-
! Election year
! % of<br />vote
! # of<br />overall seats won
! +/–
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2002 Polish local elections|2002]]
| 12.1 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|79|561|hex={{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
|
|-
| colspan="4" |<small>In coalition with [[Law and Justice]] ([[POPiS]]).</small>
|-
! [[2006 Polish local elections|2006]]
| 27.2 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|186|561|{{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
|
|-
! [[2010 Polish local elections|2010]]
| 30.9 ('''#1''')
| {{Composition bar|222|561|{{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{increase}} 36
|-
! [[2014 Polish local elections|2014]]
| 26.3 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|179|555|{{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{decrease}} 43
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2018 Polish local elections|2018]]
| 27.1 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|194|552|{{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{increase}} 15
|-
| colspan="4" |<small>As the [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]].</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2024 Polish local elections|2024]]
| 30.6 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|210|552|{{party color|Civic Platform}}}}
| {{increase}} 16
|-
| colspan="4" |<small>As the [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]].</small>
|}

===Voivodeship Marshals===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+
!Name
!Image
!Voivodeship
!Date Vocation
|-
|[[Elżbieta Polak]]
|[[File:Elzbieta Polak.JPG|60px]]
|[[Lubusz Voivodeship]]
|29 November 2010
|-
|[[Marek Woźniak]]
|[[File:Marek Wozniak 546.JPG|60px]]
|[[Greater Poland Voivodeship]]
|10 October 2005
|-
|[[Piotr Całbecki]]
|[[File:Całbecki.JPG|60px]]
|[[Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship]]
|24 January 2006
|-
|[[Olgierd Geblewicz]]
|[[File:Olgierd Geblewicz fran Parliamentary Forum of the Southern Baltic Sea talar vid BSPC-s mote i Visby 2008-09-01.jpg|60px]]
|[[West Pomeranian Voivodeship]]
|7 December 2010
|-
|[[Mieczysław Struk]]
|[[File:Mieczysław Struk (2010).JPG|60px]]
|[[Pomeranian Voivodeship]]
|22 February 2010
|-
|[[Andrzej Buła]]
|[[File:Andrzej Buła.jpg|60px]]
|[[Opole Voivodeship]]
|12 November 2013
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Civic Platform politicians]]
* [[Politics of Poland]]
* [[List of political parties in Poland]]
* [[Liberalism in Poland]]

==Notes==
{{reflist |group=nb}}

==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

==Sources==
* Adam Zakowski, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20110604060617/http://www.salon.eu.sk/article.php?article=1005-a-leading-force A leading force]'', [[Polityka]], March 2009

==External links==
* {{Official website}} {{in lang|pl}}
{{Civic Platform}}{{Polish political parties}}
{{European People's Party}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Civic Platform| ]]
[[Category:Centrist parties in Poland]]
[[Category:Conservative liberal parties]]
[[Category:Conservative parties in Poland]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 2001]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 2025]]
[[Category:Christian democratic parties in Europe]]
[[Category:Liberal conservative parties in Poland]]
[[Category:Liberal parties in Poland]]