The political party that was once a 'myth' with no address

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 2014, a political entity appeared out of thin air to help Petro Poroshenko win the presidency. Some critics called it a ghost party with no website or phone numbers. Today, it stands as a major Ukrainian political force, but its origins are a masterclass in political survival.

The party's lineage is a complex web of rebranding and strategic mergers. It began in 2000 as a parliamentary faction called 'Solidarity,' established by Petro Poroshenko. After a brief stint merging into the Party of Regions, Poroshenko created a 'phantom party' also named Solidarity in 2002 to bypass restrictions and join the Our Ukraine bloc. By 2013, the original registration was canceled due to a decade of inactivity, leading to a legal limbo that Poroshenko navigated by rebranding various entities. The initial faction included deputies from the Peasant Party of Ukraine and Hromada. It eventually merged into the Party of Regions, where Poroshenko served as a deputy. In 2002, the party won a single constituency in Vinnytsia Oblast.

The modern iteration emerged in early 2014 as the 'All-Ukrainian Union Solidarity.' This was essentially a vehicle for Poroshenko's presidential run, which some media outlets dismissed as a myth because it lacked physical infrastructure. However, it successfully consolidated power, winning 132 seats in the 2014 parliamentary elections—more than any other party. This was achieved partly through a strategic deal with the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), which provided the large-scale structures the Poroshenko Bloc lacked. The party won 69 constituency seats in 2014, despite losing the nationwide vote to the People's Front. It also endorsed nine new ministers for the second Yatsenyuk government. By 2015, it officially merged with UDAR, making Vitali Klitschko the new leader.

Today, European Solidarity is a diverse, often ideologically fragmented coalition. While it officially supports EU membership, anti-corruption, and decentralization, its parliamentary faction is composed of individuals with vastly different interests and methods of gaining power. This lack of ideological unity is a byproduct of its rapid formation, where the party list was largely filled by anyone willing to invest the necessary resources to secure a seat. The party's platform includes privatizing coal mines and restricting religions led by individuals in aggressor states. It also advocates for abolishing senior official immunity and enforcing Ukrainian as the sole official language. In 2020, it won about 10.73% of available seats in local councils.

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