Global Media on the PiS Split: “Self-Demolishing” and Morawiecki “Felt Betrayed”
International outlets analyze the deepening factional split within Poland’s PiS party, as leadership battles and ideological clashes weaken the conservative opposition ahead of parliamentary...
International outlets analyze the deepening factional split within Poland’s PiS party, as leadership battles and ideological clashes weaken the conservative opposition ahead of parliamentary elections.
Table Of Content
The Ban on Political Associations
On July 15, the PiS presidium adopted a resolution regarding a “ban on the activity and participation of party members in associations, foundations, and other organizations of a political nature.” As PiS spokesperson Rafa艂 Bochenek stated, the decision applies to, among others, Mateusz Morawiecki’s Rozw贸j Plus organization and Jacek Sasin’s Po pierwsze Polska. Their members were given seven days to resign from the organizations.
Sasin’s association complied with the will of the party authorities. However, Morawiecki announced that Rozw贸j Plus would continue its activities.
On Friday, July 24, PiS leader Jaros艂aw Kaczy艅ski announced that “thirty-odd MPs have resigned from membership” in the party. He added that the decision “will be confirmed” the following week by the PiS Political Committee. Shortly thereafter, Morawiecki specified that Rozw贸j Plus includes 40 MPs, a senator, and three MEPs.
Politico: Tusk May Still Face Difficulties Despite the Split
According to Politico, the split in the dominant party of the Polish right shortly before parliamentary elections significantly weakens the entire conservative camp’s chances of removing Donald Tusk from power.
“Since autumn of last year, support for PiS in the polls has been declining, and the grouping itself has been shaken by a dispute over the future political direction and succession between party leader Jaros艂aw Kaczy艅ski and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki,” the publication notes.
“This weakness in the polls will likely be deepened by the division,” Politico comments. As publicists explain, conservative and nationalist voters will now be divided between Kaczy艅ski’s party, the two far-right Confederation factions, and Morawiecki’s grouping, seen as the most moderate of the group.
At the same time, Politico assesses that “despite the split on the right, Tusk may still have difficulties building a coalition larger than the combined forces of the right.”
Publicists also draw attention to Przemys艂aw Czarnek, whom Kaczy艅ski chose as his candidate for prime minister. “He has apparently pushed Morawiecki and his strategy of rebuilding support among centrist and business-oriented voters out of power,” Politico writes.
The Guardian: PiS Has Lost Control of the Polish Right
Britain’s The Guardian writes that the conflict in PiS occurred after “months of increasingly fierce disputes in a party that has lost control of the Polish right.” The daily assessed that “the grouping failed to find an answer to the growing support for Confederation and the Confederation of the Polish Crown, which led to the fragmentation of the right-wing electorate into three parts.”
“Morawiecki, a former banker and economic advisor to Tusk, remains one of the most recognizable leaders of the right. However, he is also the face of eight years of a highly controversial term of Law and Justice, seen by critics as a democratic regression, conflicts with the European Union, and alleged irregularities and abuses of power,” reads the report.
American news agency Associated Press, similar to The Guardian, noted that “Poland’s largest opposition party is facing a split caused by tensions regarding its direction of action.”
Der Spiegel: A Thorn in Kaczy艅ski’s Eye
Journalists from Der Spiegel assessed that PiS, which is fiercely fighting the government, is “self-demolishing.” For years, the party was the dominant force on the Polish right, but now it faces a struggle for power and its own future.
Der Spiegel noted that Czarnek’s nomination as a candidate for prime minister showed that Kaczy艅ski “is counting on winning over voters from far-right parties.”
“The economically liberal Vice-Chairman Morawiecki felt cheated by this decision. Together with other moderate representatives of PiS, he founded the Rozw贸j Plus association in the spring. He demanded that PiS become a significant center-right party again,” reads the report. In the newspaper’s view, the former prime minister’s organization was a “thorn in the eye” of Kaczy艅ski.