Liberal Democratic Congress

The Liberal Democratic Congress (Polish: Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny, KLD) was a conservative-liberal political party in Poland.^[4] The party, led by Donald Tusk, had roots in the Solidarity movement. It advocated free market economy, individual liberty, European integration in the form of European Union membership, and rapid privatisation of the enterprises still owned by the Polish state and decentralisation of the government.

Liberal Democratic Congress Kongres Liberalno Demokratyczny
Leader	Janusz Lewandowski (first) Donald Tusk (last)
Founders	Andrzej Voigt Donald Tusk Janusz Lewandowski
Founded	29 June 1990
Dissolved	23 April 1994
Split from	Solidarity Citizens' Committee
Merged into	Freedom Union
Ideology	Neoliberalism[1] Conservative liberalism[2] Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre-right[3]
National affiliation	Centre Agreement (until 1991)
European affiliation	European Democrat Union
Politics of Poland Political parties Elections

History

The party was founded in 1990 by the faction of Solidarity that strongly favoured free-market economy. Until 1991, was a part of the Centre Agreement led by the Kaczyński brothers. In the 1991 Polish parliamentary election, KLD got 7.5% of the votes and 37 seats in the Sejm (total 460 seats). Composed of anti-communist neoliberals, the MPs of the Liberal Democratic Congress were heavily involved in the Balcerowicz Plan, a neoliberal "shock therapy" program which dismantled the socialist economy in Poland and introduced a free-market capitalist economy through radical deregulation and privatization measures.^[5]

Widespread public discontent with the Balcerowicz Plan and neoliberal policies caused the party's support to sharply decline.^[5] In the 1993 Polish parliamentary election, KLD got 4.0% of the votes and was left without seats. The party then became increasingly marginalized and struggled to find a role for itself in Polish politics.^[6]

In 1994, the KLD merged with the Democratic Union (Unia Demokratyczna) to form the Freedom Union (Unia Wolności, UW), preserving its liberal ideals. Former members, including Lewandowski and Donald Tusk, later joined the Civic Platform (PO) in 2001, where they shaped its moderate conservative wing. The KLD's legacy endures in Poland's market-driven economy, EU membership (2004), and the political careers of its founders. Donald Tusk, the KLD's final chairman (1991–1994), ascended to become Prime Minister of Poland (2007–2014) and President of the European Council (2014–2019), while Lewandowski served as EU Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget (2010–2014), cementing the KLD's enduring impact on Poland's democratic trajectory.

Election results

Sejm

Election year	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
1991	839,978	7.49 (#7)	37 / 460	37	PC–ZChN–PSL-PL–SLCh (1991–1992)
					UD–ZChN–PChD–KLD–PSL-PL–SLCh–PPPP (1992–1993)
1993	550,578	3.99 (#10)	0 / 460	37	Extra-parliamentary

Senate

Election year	Seats	+/–	Government
1991	6 / 100		PC–ZChN–PSL-PL–SLCh (1991–1992)
			UD–ZChN–PChD–KLD–PSL-PL–SLCh–PPPP (1992–1993)
1993	1 / 100	5	SLD–PSL

Ideology

The party advocated individual rights and neoliberal reforms.^[7] The Liberal Democratic Congress was more radical on neoliberal economic postulates than the Freedom Union, postulating radical deregulation and arguing that "market rules took precedence of moral and political norms".^[8] The party postulated a capitalist state based on the promotion of free enterprise, privatization and the consolidation of private ownership.^[9]

The Liberal-Democratic Congress wanted to bring a "neoliberal and conservative revolution" to Poland based on the examples of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Economically, the party listed Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig Mises, Walter Lippmann and Raymond Aron as its patrons. The leader of the party, Donald Tusk, claimed that "the basic evil of communism was the omnipresence of state institutions" and that "progress will be evident in privatization". The party also considered itself liberal-conservative.^[10]