Editing Civic Platform (section)

==History==
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.

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}}</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.

The PiS-led coalition fell apart in 2007 amid a corruption scandal involving [[Andrzej Lepper]] and [[Tomasz Lipiec]]<ref>{{cite news| url = http://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).

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 [[Partisan primary|primary election]]s, [[Bronisław Komorowski]] defeated the [[University of Oxford|Oxford]]-educated, PiS defector Foreign Minister [[Radosław Sikorski]]. At the polls, Komorowski defeated [[Jarosław Kaczyński]], ensuring PO dominance over the current 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 (a record in post-Communist Poland), and Tusk remains as [[kingmaker]]. PO's dominance is 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>

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>