Following a seven-hour meeting, leaders of Poland’s PiS party announced a willingness to strengthen the party, but disagreements quickly resurfaced regarding a new association led by former Prime Minister Morawiecki.
Initial Crisis Averted, Compromise Reached
Earlier in the day, a crisis surrounding the establishment of an association by the former Prime Minister appeared to be resolved. The PiS leader and the former head of government jointly announced their intention to further strengthen their party at a press conference on Nowogrodzka Street.
During a dinner and seven-hour discussion – reportedly held at the home of PiS MEP Adam Bielan – a compromise was reached. Members of Morawiecki’s association would join the PiS expert council, operating within the Law and Justice party. “The party will have two lungs,” emphasized Kaczyński. Morawiecki echoed this sentiment, stating their desire to be open to various groups to build their coalition and communication capabilities.
Tensions Emerge Over “Rozwój Plus” Activity
The atmosphere of unity did not last long, as disagreements arose within an hour. Kaczyński enigmatically spoke of a “suspension of activities” by the “Rozwój Plus” association, which was interpreted by opponents of Morawiecki – MEP Tobiasz Bocheński and former Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin – as a suspension of its operations.
Bocheński and Sasin began posting in support of the suspension on X, prompting immediate reactions from Morawiecki’s associates. MEP Waldemar Buda appealed to Bocheński, saying, “Tobiasz, with all due respect, delete this.”
“No Such Agreement”
PiS spokesman Rafał Bochenek posted on X, summarizing the overnight agreements between the two PiS leaders. “Parliamentarians currently forming the association will automatically become members of the Expert Council. Furthermore, the association will not accept new members from PiS, including parliamentarians, or create local structures or appoint plenipotentiaries. The Presidium of the Political Committee will decide who joins the Expert Council and who will lead it,” the spokesman informed.
Disagreement Over Membership Restrictions
However, sources close to the former Prime Minister claim that the meeting did not include any discussion about restricting the association from accepting new PiS members. “There is no such agreement, please note that nothing like that was said in the statement on Nowogrodzka,” said one of Morawiecki’s associates.
Interest in “Rozwój Plus” Remains High
For the former Prime Minister and his team, this is important because, in unofficial conversations, they stated that there is significant interest in “Rozwój Plus” and many are eager to join the project. Nearly 40 people have already joined the association, including a substantial number of PiS parliamentarians, including MEPs Michał Dworczyk (who became its secretary), Piotr Müller, and Waldemar Buda, as well as MPs Marcin Horała (vice-president of “Rozwój Plus”), Janusz Cieszyński, Krzysztof Szczucki, Paweł Jabłoński, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, Mirosława Stachowiak-Różecka, Marzena Machałek, Anna Kwiecień, and Ryszard Terlecki.
Unofficial conversations among Morawiecki’s associates suggest that there are 20 to 30 more potential members. It remains unclear whether new MPs will decide to join the association and whether this will become a source of further conflict within the party.
