Friday open thread: coalition-building

[dolorosa_12]

I've been reading a lot about Poland's election results this week. During a time in which the world has gone to a very dark place, in a variety of contexts, the efforts of Poland's various opposition parties and voters to prevail against incredible odds over incumbent populist authoritarians who held all the cards in their hands has offered a tiny, candle-flame of hope. Two recent articles offered a good summary of the situation for outsiders: an opinion piece in the Guardian (written with an assumed British audience; so contains various throwaway references to UK politics), and this piece on the Notes from Poland website drawing together the main takeaways from the election result.

What struck me when reading commentary about the result was how strongly dependent it was on a lot of things I personally value: coalition-building, clear and strategic communications, a good balance between short- and long-term thinking and goal-setting, and, above all, a focus on positive, concrete alternatives to the status quo (rather than falling into the trap of simply assuming that not being the nasty authoritarian incumbents would be enough of a push for voters). At least, that's how things look to an outsider — Polish citizens and residents might have very different opinions!

All this inspired this week's open thread prompt: what is an example you've witnessed of good coalition-building and focused work that resulted in a positive outcome? It doesn't have to be as large scale as a national or global political movement — it could be much more local or communal than that. Basically, give me examples of groups of different people pooling their respective strengths, perspectives and abilities in a way that achieved their desired goal.

I think it's good to remember that these things are possible, even if it feels like fighting against an endless, overwhelming tide.

Comments

[shadaras]

A much smaller-scale thing than what prompted your post, but it's what came to mind:

My local aikido dojo is not very large. Historically, it's been run by just one person, possibly with the help of a couple people to whom tasks were delegated. When the pandemic hit, things got complicated, and it became clear that no one person was going to be able to shoulder the work of keeping the dojo running through all the confusion. So the people who taught classes got together and we started making decisions as a (small) group, which allows us each to handle a more manageable amount of that work.

It's been working pretty well! We've gotten a bunch of things done (including a lot of paperwork logistics nobody wanted to do on their own)! The dojo is still running, even if it's small. (The one thing none of us want to put energy into is advertising, which is unfortunate, but hey the dojo still exists and it's functional and that's what matters.)

[dolorosa_12]

This is such a lovely thing to read! How wonderful that what began as a temporary measure during the pandemic has morphed into a more permanent state of affairs that seems to have improved things a lot.

The one thing none of us want to put energy into is advertising, which is unfortunate, but hey the dojo still exists and it's functional and that's what matters.

That is indeed definitely what matters.

[darkmarcy]

I've no example to give, but the Poland election news make me feel cautiously optimistic or even momentarily relieved. Phew.

[dolorosa_12]

It's such good news! (And it's going to have a good effect on so many things, not just life in Poland — although even if that were all that might improve, that would be enough; I have quite a few Polish friends and they were all crying with relief.)

It also comes after similar attempts by the liberal opposition in Türkiye and Hungary to join forces and dislodge authoritarian leaders, both of which took a different approach to what was done in Poland, and both of which failed, so it's extremely heartwarming and invigorating to know that it can be done.

[trepkos]

A group of us are trying to get rid of some bullies running Jersey Zoo. The kingpin has gone, but her lackey still clings on like an alien face-sucker.

[dolorosa_12]

I've been reading about this whenever you post about it — it sounds as if it's been a long-running and difficult saga. Fingers crossed you achieve what you want in the end!

[chestnut_pod]

Yes, hear hear; it was truly the spark of hope that kept me looking at the news this week without sinking wholly into despair.

My local just today successfully voted to join with a sister local, after going on strike together last year. When my chapter was founded, it was meant to include the members of that sister local, but they were deemed "not workers" -- even though, frankly, they're more like wage laborers than my own position! Getting to this point, of being one big union again, has taken almost 25 years of planning across many generations of organizers, and getting to see it happen in my tenure is a huge honor.

[dolorosa_12]

That is a phenomenal achievement! Well done to you, and everyone who worked towards this over the past twenty-five years. You should be rightly proud.

And yes, Polish politics really was the rare glimmer of hope in what's been otherwise a terrible week for the world as a whole. The thing that I hope people take away from this is not to copy what the Polish opposition did (which seems to have been designed perfectly for the local circumstances), but rather that achieving this kind of seismic change takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and the unified work of a lot of different people — not all of whom are going to seem like natural allies. Persistence is essential, even in the face of setbacks. Which you obviously know a lot about, given the achievement you've just described took several decades of work to occur.

[luzula]

Thanks for the links about Poland, had missed this! : )

[dolorosa_12]

It's such wonderful news, isn't it?

[luzula]

Yes! Much needed.