Solidarity Electoral Action (Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność, AWS) was a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 coalition in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. Since 1997 its official name has been Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy (AWSP) or Solidarity Electoral Action of the Right. Ruch Społeczny AWS (RS AWS), or Social Movement for Solidarity Electoral Action, was the political arm of the Solidarity trade union and was formerly the leading party within AWS.

Background

AWS was formed in 1996 as a coalition of over 30 parties, uniting liberal

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...

, conservative

Conservatism

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

 and Christian democratic forces. Marian Krzaklewski

Marian Krzaklewski

Marian Krzaklewski is a Polish politician. A member of Solidarity since the 1980s, he was one of the most known and influential Polish politicians in the late 1990s, when he created the Solidarity Electoral Action...

 was its first chairman. In 1997 the coalition was joined by RS AWS, as well as the Unia Wolności (UW) or Freedom Union. Jerzy Buzek

Jerzy Buzek

Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...

 of RS AWS became Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

.

The International Republican Institute

International Republican Institute

Founded in 1983, the International Republican Institute is an organization, funded by the United States government, that conducts international political programs, sometimes labeled 'democratization programs'....

 (IRI), a US federal government funded organisation loosely associated with the United States Republican Party, claims credit for having played a major role in uniting the different political parties which came together to create the Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność (AWS). It claims to have provided training in political campaigning, communications training and research which helped organise and create the AWS. It also claims that once the AWS was in government, it organised an advertising

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 campaign for the Polish government in order to stop the AWS splitting up over internal tensions:

IRI initiated a post-election program that emphasized media and communications training for Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek's chancellory and cabinet.

Reforms relating to domestic affairs, the entry to NATO in 1999 and the accession process to the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 led to conflicts within the coalition, with many members moving to the more liberal Platforma Obywatelska ("Civic Platform"), the right-wing Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice Party), or the Ruch Odbudowy Polski

Ruch Odbudowy Polski

Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland is a conservative and eurosceptic political party in Poland. It participated in election to the Polish parliament, the Sejm, at Polish parliamentary election, 1997, where it received 5.6% of the vote, to elect 6 M.P's...

(Movement to Rebuild Poland). By 2001 the number of parties in the alliance was reduced to three, including RS AWS. AWS formed a minority government under Jerzy Buzek, and the coalition was renamed to AWSP (Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy - "Solidarity of the Right" Electoral Action), while RS AWS became simply RS. In the 2001 elections, AWSP (including RS) did not obtain enough votes to enter Parliament, and became defunct.

AWSP former leader Jerzy Buzek is currently a member of the Platforma Obywatelska.