View source for Polish Beer-Lovers' Party

{{Short description|Political party in Poland}}
{{Infobox political party
| native_name      = Polska Partia Przyjaciół Piwa
| native_name_lang = pl
| logo             = File:Logo_of_Polska_Partia_Przyjaciół_Piwa.jpg
| colorcode        = orange
| country          = Poland
| abbreviation     = PPPP
| registered       = {{start date|1990|12|28|df=y}}
| dissolved        = {{end date|1993|05|28|df=y}}
| ideology         = '''Initially:'''<br>[[Political satire]]<br>[[Beer]]-drinking advocacy<br>[[Anti-communism]]<br>'''Later:'''<br>[[Reformism]]<br>[[Green politics]]
| headquarters     = [[Warsaw]]
| membership_year  = 1991
| position         = [[Big tent]]
| membership       = >10,000
}}
{{Politics of Poland}}
The '''Polish Beer-Lovers' Party''' ('''PPPP'''; {{langx|pl|Polska Partia Przyjaciół Piwa|lit=Polish Party of Friends of Beer}}) was a satirical [[List of political parties in Poland|Polish political party]] that was founded in 1990. Originally, the party's goal was to promote cultural [[beer]]-drinking in English-style [[pub]]s instead of [[vodka]] (and, thus, fight [[alcoholism]]);<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Feusette |first=Krzysztof |date=25 Jan 2003 |title=Rozmowy - Janusz Rewiński - Lepiej nie będzie, ale weselej |trans-title=Conversations - Janusz Rewiński - It won't be better, but it will be happier |url=http://www.teatry.art.pl/%21Rozmowy/lepiejn.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006134851/http://www.teatry.art.pl/%21Rozmowy/lepiejn.htm |archive-date=6 Oct 2007 |access-date=6 Oct 2007 |website=teatry.art.pl |language=pl}}</ref> however, the party eventually developed a serious platform based on [[tax reform]] and [[green politics]].<ref name=":0" />

== History ==

=== Formation ===
The party was founded by the cast and crew of a late 80's Polish comedy series called "The Beer Scouts" ({{Langx|pl|Skauci Piwni}}) as "a continuation of [the] TV program." [[Janusz Rewiński]], an actor on the show, was elected leader of the party in April 1991.<ref name=":3" /> Andrzej Kołodziejski and Adam Halber, two editors for the now defunct magazine ''Pan'', were responsible for most of the party's early promotion.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Henzler |first=Marek |date=9 Nov 2011 |title=Palikot? A pamiętacie Partię Przyjaciół Piwa? |trans-title=Palikot? Do you remember the Beer Friends Party? |url=https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/historia/1520918,1,palikot-a-pamietacie-partie-przyjaciol-piwa.read |access-date=12 Mar 2024 |work=Polityka |language=pl}}</ref><ref name="rissanen">{{Cite book |last=Rissanen |first=Mika |author-link=Mika Rissanen |title=Down Beer Street: History in a Pint Glass |last2=Tahvanainen |first2=Juha |date=2016 |publisher=Souvenir Press |isbn=9780285643383 |pages=197-204 |translator-last=Urbom |translator-first=Ruth |chapter=Scouting for Parliament |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/36177641 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref>

=== Rise and 1991 election ===
[[File:Leszek Bubel i Janusz Rewiński.jpg|left|thumb|Janusz Rewiński and Leszek Bubel (third and fourth from the left) during a PPPP political convention]]
The humorous name and disillusionment with [[History of Poland (1989-present)|Poland's political transformation]] led some Poles to vote for and/or join the party,<ref name="countrystudies.us">{{Cite web |title=Poland - Beer-Lovers' Party |url=https://countrystudies.us/poland/85.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108201128/https://countrystudies.us/poland/85.htm |archive-date=8 Nov 2023 |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]}}</ref> with it having 10,000 registered members by July 1991.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Cieszkowska |first=Joanna |date=7 Jul 1991 |title=The blossoming of democracy in Poland has produced a... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/07/07/The-blossoming-of-democracy-in-Poland-has-produced-a/3432678859200/ |access-date=9 Mar 2024 |work=United Press International}}</ref> The nature of the party's appeal to its supporters was reflected in frequently-heard remarks that, maybe with the PPPP at the helm, "it wouldn't be better but for sure it would be funnier."<ref name="rissanen" />

Although it started as a [[joke party]], its members developed a serious platform with time, such as stopping the domestic sale of [[Tetraethyllead|leaded gasoline]].<ref name=":0" /> Moreover, the idea of political discussion in establishments that served quality beer became a symbol of freedom of association and expression, intellectual tolerance, and a higher standard of living.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

In the [[1991 Polish parliamentary election|1991 parliamentary elections]], the PPPP won 16 seats in the [[Sejm]], capturing 3.27% of the vote.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Nohlen |first=Dieter |title=Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook |last2=Stöver |first2=Philip |publisher=[[Nomos Publishing House]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-8329-5609-7 |edition=illustrated |pages=1491 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Disbanding and successor groups ===
Soon after the election, the party split into Big Beer and Little Beer factions,<ref name="countrystudies.us" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Barber |first=Tony |date=16 Jul 1992 |title=Big Beer's spirited alcohol tax reform falls flat |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/big-beer-s-spirited-alcohol-tax-reform-falls-flat-1533620.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309202812/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/big-beer-s-spirited-alcohol-tax-reform-falls-flat-1533620.html |archive-date=9 Mar 2024 |access-date=9 Mar 2024 |work=The Independent}}</ref> despite Rewiński's claims that "beer is neither light nor dark, it is tasty."{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} {{Illm|Leszek Bubel|lt=Leszek Bubel|pl|Leszek Bubel}}, future president of the [[Polish National Party]], became leader of the PPPP in 1992 after Rewiński was accused of "cryptic financial operations." The PPPP dissolved in 1993 after it suffered a major defeat in [[1993 Polish parliamentary election|that year's parliamentary election]],<ref name=":3" /> receiving only 0.1% of the vote.<ref name=":4" />

The Big Beer faction assumed the name '''Polish Economic Program''' ('''PPG'''; {{Langx|pl|Polski Program Gospodarczy}}).<ref name=":1" /><ref name="countrystudies.us" /><ref name=":2" /> Dropping its satirical element, it became associated with the [[Democratic Union (Poland)|Democratic Union]] (UD). The Little Beer faction became associated with the [[Liberal Democratic Congress]] in a coalition of liberal pro-market parties, which supported the candidacy of [[Hanna Suchocka]] as prime minister.<ref name="countrystudies.us" />

In 2007, there was an unsuccessful attempt to revive the party by activists associated with Bubel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wróblewski |first=Artur |date=31 October 2014 |title=Polska Partia Przyjaciół Piwa: polityczne kuriozum w potrójnie filtrowanej postaci |trans-title=Polish Party of Beer Friends: a political curiosity in a triple-filtered form |url=https://historia.interia.pl/polska-wspolczesna/news-polska-partia-przyjaciol-piwa-polityczne-kuriozum-w-potrojni,nId,1545289 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129051817/https://historia.interia.pl/polska-wspolczesna/news-polska-partia-przyjaciol-piwa-polityczne-kuriozum-w-potrojni,nId,1545289 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |access-date=14 March 2014 |website=Interia Historia |language=pl}}</ref>

==See also==
{{commons}}
*[[Beer Lovers Party (Russia)]]
*[[List of political parties in Poland]]
*[[List of frivolous parties]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Polish political parties}}

[[Category:Political parties established in 1990]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in Poland]]
[[Category:Defunct liberal political parties|Poland]]
[[Category:Beer political parties]]
[[Category:1990 establishments in Poland]]
[[Category:Joke political parties in Poland]]