The Polish party “New Hope” is rebranding as “Income Tax” and merging with “Counterattack Empire” to avoid being removed from the political registry due to financial reporting issues.
Party Name Change Filed
A request to change the name of the “New Hope” party to “Income Tax” was submitted to the Warsaw District Court on February 23rd, according to information obtained by PAP. A party congress held two days prior, on February 21st, decided to join forces with the “Counterattack Empire” party, currently led by Confederation spokesman Wojciech Machulski.
Maintaining Operational Continuity
“The merger with the ‘Counterattack Empire’ party gives us freedom of action, a kind of formal leeway, thanks to which the dispute with the National Electoral Commission becomes irrelevant to us, and we can continue to function as ‘New Hope’,” explained Confederation Council member Bartłomiej Pejo in February.
Avoiding Deregistration
The move to join “Counterattack Empire” was a way to address the potential removal of “New Hope” from the register of political parties. On November 21, 2024, the Warsaw District Court decided – following a request from the National Electoral Commission – to remove “New Hope” from the registry due to the failure to submit its 2024 financial report on time.
Appeal Pending
The party appealed this decision, but a final court ruling has not yet been issued. Therefore, it is possible that “New Hope,” which may soon be called “Income Tax,” will be liquidated. The merger with “Counterattack Empire” would allow the group to maintain its operational continuity.
Mentzen to Lead New Entity
According to PAP sources, following a unification congress, “Counterattack Empire” decided to change its name to “New Hope.” A request in this matter has also been submitted to the court. In addition, all assets and members of the “old” “New Hope” have been transferred to “Counterattack Empire,” which was registered as a political party on January 7th.
PAP reports that Sławomir Mentzen will head the new “New Hope,” replacing Wojciech Machulski as party chairman. “Soon the court will approve the change of name and leadership. These are purely bureaucratic matters – the party operates unchanged as before,” Pejo assured.
PKW Interpretation a “Problem”
According to the Act on Political Parties, “the name, abbreviation of the name, and graphic symbol of a political party must clearly differ from the names, abbreviations of names, and graphic symbols of already existing parties.” If a party fails to submit a report on time, the PKW applies to the court to remove the party’s entry from the registry.
In June of last year, Pejo told PAP that “New Hope” believes the financial report was submitted on time, and the problem lies in the “interpretation of the PKW.”