History of Solidarity resolution condemning the 1981 martial law (despite the "SLD" voting against). Meanwhile, the left-wing "OPZZ" trade union had acquired 2.5 million members, twice as many as the contemporary Solidarity (with 1.3 million). In June 1996, Solidarity Electoral Action ("Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność") was founded as a coalition of over 30 parties, uniting liberal, conservative and Christian-democratic forces. As the public became disillusioned with the "SLD" and its allies, "AWS" was victorious in the 1997 parliamentary elections. Jerzy Buzek became the new prime minister. However, controversies over domestic reforms, Poland's 1999 entry into NATO, and the accession process to the European Union,
Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz was also a member of the Solidarity movement and editor of underground press materials. In 1992 he became a State Secretary (formal name for deputy minister) in the Ministry of National Education. From 1999 to 2000 he was the cabinet chief for Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek. Following the victory of the Law and Justice party in the September 2005 Polish parliamentary elections, its prime ministerial candidate, party leader Jarosław Kaczyński decided against becoming prime minister so as not to damage the chances of his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński in the then-upcoming October presidential election. Instead the little-known Marcinkiewicz became PM,