Party of Regions

The Party of Regions (, PR) was a left-wing Polish non-parliamentary political party created in November 2007 and registered in February 2008. The Party of Regions was created by former members of Self-Defence and the Democratic Left Alliance after the parliamentary election in 2007, when Self-Defence support collapsed to far less than the 5% electoral threshold giving them no seats in the new legislature. Founders of the grouping included Krzysztof Filipek, Danuta Hojarska and Bolesław Borysiuk. For failure to disclose their financial records for the year 2015, they were struck off in early 2017. According to the founders' declaration, the party was to be governed decentralistically, respecting the decisions of the field authorities and recognising the supremacy of the congress over the party board. In October 2008, Party of Regions activists linked to agriculture announced the establishment of the Trade Union of Agriculture and Rural Areas "Regions", which was formed a month later. (led, among others, by Renata Beger). Danuta Hojarska and Krzysztof Filipek left the party after some time. The party initially cooperated with (mainly national) right-wing parties, but then became an ally of the SLD. The party described itself as the "patriotic left". The party strongly supported regionalism and wanted to revive local and regional traditions in Poland, as well as promote and encourage regional patriotism. The party envisioned a decentralised Poland full of "regional, small homelands", advocating a strongly decentralised, regionalised structure. The Party of Regions argued that Poland was too centralised and believed that poor Polish regions were being exploited by wealthier ones as cheap labour. The party's aim was to develop and invest in the poorest regions and make them seft-sufficient rather than dependent on bailouts from the wealthier regions. The power of national government was to be significantly reduced and the regions were to act as self-sovereign entities that would cooperate with each other on the basis of equal partnerships and "solidarity-based" support. History The electoral defeat of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland resulted in a significant reduction in party membership, both in the regions and among the well-known politicians of the hitherto dominating party. Krzysztof Filipek, hitherto deputy chairman of Self-Defence, parted ways with the party in 2007 by forming the Party of Regions.