The Nowoczesna convention has decided to formally dissolve the party — announced its current leader and government spokesman, Adam Szłapka. He emphasized that the decision was made by a “vast majority of votes.”
The end of Nowoczesna!
“After these ten years, we have made a collective decision — the entire convention — that we want to participate in the next stage, that is, within the Civic Coalition. The KO is a good project for Poland,” Szłapka said.
“The Nowoczesna project is not ending — it will co-create the next stage of Polish politics,” he added.
Szłapka also informed that all of the party’s financial obligations would be taken over by a liquidator and that the liquidation process would be carried out in accordance with applicable laws.
The liquidator will be an external person, unaffiliated with the party’s structures. They will file a motion to remove Nowoczesna from the register of political parties and handle the settlement of debts — creditors will have the opportunity to submit their claims.
Ryszard Petru and the beginnings of Nowoczesna
The founding of Nowoczesna dates back to mid-2015 — on May 31 the founding congress of the NowoczesnaPL association took place, and on August 25 the party was officially registered as Nowoczesna Ryszarda Petru (Ryszard Petru’s Modern Party).
Petru was the first leader of the movement and held this position until November 2017, when he was replaced by Katarzyna Lubnauer.
From the very beginning, Nowoczesna pursued a liberal course, emphasizing economic reforms, Poland’s pro-European direction, and modernization of state institutions. In the 2015 parliamentary elections, the party won 7.6% of the vote, securing 28 seats in the Sejm.
However, difficulties soon followed — especially related to the party’s financial management and procedural issues concerning campaign settlements.
After leaving his position in Nowoczesna, Petru engaged in various political projects, including the party Now! (Teraz!), founded in 2018, which existed only briefly (until 2019) as a liberal political entity. In recent years, Petru has returned to active politics — in the 2023 parliamentary elections, he won a seat in the Sejm.
Commenting on the dissolution of Nowoczesna, Petru said:
“I’m a bit sad, but today I’m at a different stage. I’m running for chairman of Poland 2050.”
Millions of zlotys to settle
One of the key problems that Nowoczesna “leaves behind” are its financial obligations. According to various sources, the party leaves around 2 million zlotys in debt.
The debt stems mainly from the 2015 election campaign, when the party took out a loan from PKO BP and purchased a large number of campaign ads (including on Polsat Television). There were also procedural issues — transfers often interpreted as inconsistent with regulations governing the election fund.
In 2015, the National Electoral Commission (PKW) rejected Nowoczesna’s financial report, resulting in the loss of public subsidies for the following years. The debt became a point of contention within the party, both between its leaders and successive chairpersons.
Most of the current debt will likely not be fully repaid. Nowoczesna leaves obligations to several creditors, including Polsat Television. According to the party’s treasurer, Mirosław Pampuch, the liquidation process will proceed in such a way that — to the extent the party’s assets allow — the obligations will be settled.