Liberal Democratic Congress
The Liberal Democratic Congress was a conservative-liberal political party in Poland. 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.
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. 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.Widespread public discontent with the Balcerowicz Plan and neoliberal policies caused the party's support to sharply decline. 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.
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 in 2001, where they shaped its moderate conservative wing. The KLD's legacy endures in Poland's market-driven economy, EU membership, and the political careers of its founders. Donald Tusk, the KLD's final chairman, ascended to become Prime Minister of Poland and President of the European Council, while Lewandowski served as EU Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget, cementing the KLD's enduring impact on Poland's democratic trajectory.
Ideology
The party advocated individual rights and neoliberal reforms. 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". The party postulated a capitalist state based on the promotion of free enterprise, privatization and the consolidation of private ownership.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.