New Hope (Poland)

This article is about a political party in Poland. For the political party in Israel with the same name in English, see New Hope (Israel).

The New Hope (Polish: Nowa Nadzieja, Polish pronunciation: [ˈnova naˈd͡ʑɛ.ja]; NN)^[1] is a right-wing political party in Poland.^[2] As of 2024, it is led by Sławomir Mentzen.^[3][4]

New Hope Nowa Nadzieja
President	Sławomir Mentzen
Vice-presidents	Konrad Berkowicz Marcin Sypniewski Bartłomiej Pejo
Founder	Janusz Korwin-Mikke
Founded	22 January 2015; 9 years ago (22 January 2015)
Split from	Congress of the New Right
Headquarters	Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship
Youth wing	Youth for Liberty
Ideology	Right-wing populism Right-libertarianism Euroscepticism Economic liberalism
Political position	Right-wing to far-right
National affiliation	Confederation Liberty and Independence
European affiliation	Europe of Sovereign Nations Party
European Parliament group	Europe of Sovereign Nations
International affiliation	International Alliance of Libertarian Parties
Colors	Gold   Blue
Sejm	8 / 460
Senate	0 / 100
European Parliament	3 / 53
City Presidents	1 / 107
Regional assemblies	2 / 552
Website
wolnosc.pl
Politics of Poland Political parties Elections

Founded in 2015 by Janusz Korwin-Mikke as a result of his removal from the Congress of the New Right, his former party,^[5] it was initially called Coalition for the Renewal of the Republic of Liberty and Hope (Polish: Koalicja Odnowy Rzeczypospolitej Wolność i Nadzieja) and then subsequently Confederation for the Renewal of the Republic of Liberty and Hope (Polish: Konfederacja Odnowy Rzeczypospolitej Wolność i Nadzieja), both abbreviated to just KORWiN or sometimes Liberty (Polish: Wolność).

Among the party's other members are Przemysław Wipler, who held a seat in the Polish Sejm, and Robert Iwaszkiewicz, Member of the European Parliament. The party's Polish name was originally a backronym of the founder's name Korwin-Mikke, who took part in the 2015 presidential election.^[6]

In 2018, the party formed a coalition with National Movement called Confederation.^[7]

History

The party was formed shortly after Janusz Korwin-Mikke was removed from the chairmanship of the Congress of the New Right (KNP). The pro-Korwin faction of the KNP ended up forming the KORWiN party ahead of the 2015 Polish presidential election. Janusz Korwin-Mikke finished fourth in that election, earning 3.26% of the vote (486,084 votes).^[8] In the 2015 Polish parliamentary election, the party earned 4.76% of the vote (722,999 votes) but failed to reach the 5% electoral threshold needed to get any seats.^[9]

The party gained two seats during the VIII Sejm after Jacek Wilk and later Jakub Kulesza left Kukiz'15 to join KORWiN.

Ahead of the 2019 European Parliament election in Poland, KORWiN formed an alliance with the National Movement (RN) and other right-wing parties called the Confederation.^[10] Even though the coalition failed to get any seats, the main parties stayed together to contest the 2019 Polish parliamentary election. The Confederation ended up receiving 6.81% of the vote (1,256,953 votes) and 11 seats, five of which were taken by the KORWiN members.

For the 2020 Polish presidential election, KORWiN endorsed vice-chairman of the RN Krzysztof Bosak following his victory in the 2019–20 Confederation presidential primary. Bosak received 6.8% of the vote (1,317,380) which was by far the best result of any candidate (or party) endorsed by Janusz Korwin-Mikke.

In March 2022, claiming that the party had abandoned its libertarian roots and become Russophilic, three MPs left the party, creating a splinter group called Wolnościowcy.^[11]

On 15 October 2022, Korwin-Mikke stepped down as the party president and was replaced by Sławomir Mentzen, the party's then vice president. Mentzen has worked to transform the image of the party away from a personality cult of Korwin-Mikke culminating in changing the party's name to "New Hope."^[12] The founder of the party, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, was expelled from the party on October 28, 2023, which its new chairman, Sławomir Mentzen, justified with his controversial statements that harmed the party and contributed to it achieving a lower result than expected in the parliamentary elections this year."^[13]

On April 21, 2024, in the second round of the presidential elections in Bełchatów, Patryk Marjan [pl], a party member, was elected, becoming the party's and Confederation's first city president.^[14]

Ideology and position

The New Hope has been described as a right-wing^[15] and far-right party.^[16] Regarding social issues, the party is conservative,^[17] and regarding economic issues, it is right-libertarian.^[18] It has been also described as right-wing populist.^[19] It has expressed hard Eurosceptic views towards the European Union.^[20] After Mentzen replaced Korwin-Mikke as party leader, the party became more critical of Russia, with Mentzen describing Russia as the main threat to Poland, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a "murderer and a barbarian" and expressing support for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War, while being sceptical of increased military aid due to equipment shortages in Poland.^[21] Mentzen has also said that the Polish state should take no position on the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.^[22]

Programme

The party's programme preamble calls for:^[23]

• rebuilding the basic values of the Polish culture and "Latin civilization" and the Christian moral foundations of society,
• construction of rule of law, fair and efficient governance based on the subsidiarity principle,
• implementation of the "eternal human aspirations for Freedom",
• respect for the private property of citizens and the fruits of their labor,
• striving for the implementation of the Polish national interest in the international arena and optimal conditions for the development of the Republic of Poland,
• strengthening the role of the family and creating favorable conditions for its development.

Other issues mentioned in the program are:

• the adoption of a new Polish constitution which takes into account the "principle of no harm to the willing" and the introduction of a presidential system; strengthening the tripartite division of powers by prohibiting the combination of positions in the legislative, executive and judiciary (especially the functions of a deputy and minister);
• the reduction of the role of the Sejm to the body deciding on the amount of taxes and controlling the executive power, and the reduction of the number of ministries;
• the creation of an eleven-person Council of State elected by the Senate and appointed by the President. According to the group's leader, it would take over the legislative initiative from the government
• elimination of PIT and CIT income taxes as well as inheritance and donation tax, as well as the abolition of compulsory pension and health insurance while respecting acquired rights;^{[clarification needed]}
• introducing in the constitution a ban on adopting a budget with a deficit in peacetime; regaining sovereignty which, according to the party, requires abandoning the Treaty of Lisbon and rebuilding the treaty base of the European Union;
• doubling defense spending;
• reintroduction of the death penalty.

Election results

Presidential

Election year	Candidate	1st round		2nd round		Result
		# of overall votes	% of overall vote	# of overall votes	% of overall vote
2015	Janusz Korwin-Mikke	486,084	3.26 (#4)	—		Lost
2020	Supported Krzysztof Bosak	1,317,380	6.78 (#4)	—		Lost

Sejm

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
2015	Janusz Korwin-Mikke	722,999	4.8 (#7)	0 / 460	New	Extra-parliamentary
2019	Janusz Korwin-Mikke	448,946	2.4 (#5)	5 / 460	5	PiS
	As part of the Confederation coalition, that won 11 seats in total.
2023	Sławomir Mentzen	551,901	2.6 (#5)	8 / 460	3	KO–PL2050–KP–NL
	As part of the Confederation coalition, that won 18 seats in total.

European Parliament

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	EP Group
2019	Janusz Korwin-Mikke	621,188	4.55 (#4)	0 / 52	New	–
	As part of the Confederation coalition, that didn't win any seat.
2024	Sławomir Mentzen	1,420,287	12.08 (#3)	3 / 53	3	ESN
	As part of the Confederation coalition, that won 6 seats in total.

References

1. "Mentzen ogłosił nową nazwę partii KORWiN". Do Rzeczy (in Polish). 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
2. "Partia KORWiN zmieniła nazwę". TVN24.pl. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
3. "Partia KORWiN zmienia nazwę na Nowa Nadzieja". www.gazetaprawna.pl (in Polish). 29 November 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
4. "KORWiN zmienia nazwę. Stowarzyszenie "Nowa nadzieja" wysyła przedsądowe pismo do Mentzena". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). Retrieved 24 October 2024.
5. "Korwin-Mikke odsunięty z funkcji prezesa KNP z przyczyn osobistych? - GazetaPrawna.pl - biznes, podatki, prawo, finanse, wiadomości, praca". GazetaPrawna.pl. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
6. "Janusz Korwin-Mikke: Jeśli wygram będę silnym prezydentem, którego trzeba się bać [ZDJĘCIA+VIDEO". Polskatimes.pl. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
7. Rogacin, Kacper (27 February 2019). "Konfederacja KORWiN, Liroy, Braun, Narodowcy. Zaprezentowano nazwę i logo. Znamy szczegóły". polskatimes.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 6 May 2019.
8. "Prezydent 2015".
9. "Partia KORWiN tworzy koło poselskie - ludzie". wnp.pl.
10. "Ruch Narodowy i Wolność utworzyły "eurosceptyczną" koalicję w wyborach do PE". RadioMaryja.pl. 6 December 2018.
11. "Nowa partia posłów z Konfederacji. Zamieszanie z nazwą". Wydarzenia Interia. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
12. "KORWiN zmienia nazwę. Stowarzyszenie "Nowa nadzieja" wysyła przedsądowe pismo do Mentzena". Rzeczpospolita. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
13. "Janusz Korwin-Mikke usunięty z Konfederacji". Euractiv. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
14. Maciej Kałach (22 April 2024). "Pierwszy prezydent miasta z Konfederacji. Skąd się wziął Patryk Marjan" [The first city president from the Confederation. Where did Patryk Marjan come from?]. onet.pl. Onet Wiadomości. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
15. Nardelli, Alberto (22 October 2015). "Polish elections 2015: a guide to the parties, polls and electoral system". The Guardian.
16. • Rettman, Andrew (23 September 2015). "Poland defends EU refugee decision". EUobserver. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
    • Kiepuszewski, Rafal (22 October 2015). "Poland's youth is key as election looms". Deutsche Welle (DW). Retrieved 26 October 2021.
    • "Nowy sondaż. Tego nie spodziewał się nawet Kaczyński". Fakt24.pl (in Polish). 8 April 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
17. Stępińska, Agnieszka (2020). Populist political communication in Poland : political actors - media - citizens. Artur Lipiński, Dorota Piontek, Agnieszka Hess. Berlin. p. 75. ISBN 978-3-8325-5142-1. OCLC 1223070217.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
18. • Henningsen, Bernd; Etzold, Tobias; Hanne, Krister (15 September 2017). The Baltic Sea Region: A Comprehensive Guide: History, Politics, Culture and Economy of a European Role Model. BWV Verlag. p. 353. ISBN 978-3-8305-1727-6.
    • Hess, Agnieszka Stepinska, Artur Lipinski, Dorota Piontek, Agnieszka (30 September 2020). Populist Political Communication in Poland: Political Actors – Media – Citizens. Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH. p. 75. ISBN 978-3-8325-5142-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    • Sobczak-Szelc, Karolina; Pachocka, Marta; Pędziwiatr, Konrad; Szałańska, Justyna; Szulecka, Monika (19 December 2022). From Reception to Integration of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Poland. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-81143-8.
    • Main, Izabella (2020). "Proclaiming and practicing pro-immigration values in Poland". Europe and the Refugee Response: 269–285. doi:10.4324/9780429279317-17. ISBN 978-0-429-27931-7.
    • "Law and Justice triumph in Polish elections – what does it mean?". Vocal Europe. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
19. • Stępińska, Agnieszka (2020). Populist political communication in Poland : political actors - media - citizens. Artur Lipiński, Dorota Piontek, Agnieszka Hess. Berlin. p. 105. ISBN 978-3-8325-5142-1. OCLC 1223070217.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
    • van Beek, Ursula (2019). "The Return of Nationalist Ethos: The Loss of Liberal Democracy in Poland?". Democracy under Threat. Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University. p. 100. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-89453-9_4. ISBN 978-3-319-89452-2.
    • "Law and Justice (PiS) in office wins the elections in Poland". Robert Schuman. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
20. "Polls differ on Poland's Sunday election". EurActiv. 23 October 2015.
21. "Wielki zwrot ws. Rosji i Putina. Nowa twarz Konfederacji mówi wprost". 27 October 2022.
22. "How the Polish Anti-War Movement's Message Entered Mainstream Politics | Balkan Insight".
23. "Statut Partii KORWIN".

External links

• Official website (in Polish)