Sikorski: Competing with Confederation Led PiS Astray

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski argues that PiS compromised its standing by drifting rightward, while the party faces an internal crisis over an ultimatum issued to Mateusz Morawiecki’s allies.

Sikorski on the crisis within PiS

Asked by journalists—prior to the PiS leader’s statement—whether a split would be the “nail in the coffin” for Jarosław Kaczyński’s party, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski placed the blame squarely on past actions. He stated that the party worked hard for this outcome by deceiving the public regarding the Smolensk disaster and shifting so far to the right that it has become an anti-Western party today.

Pressed on the broader implications of a PiS fracture for the Polish political scene, Sikorski said he hopes his colleagues from PiS will draw conclusions from the fact that competing on anti-Europeanism and nationalism with Confederation has led them astray.

Ultimatum and the controversy over resignations

At midnight on Thursday, the deadline expired for PiS parliamentarians to submit a statement confirming they do not belong to any associations, under threat of exclusion from the party. The issue primarily affected members of the “Rozwój Plus” association founded by former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Jarosław Kaczyński announced on Friday that “thirty-odd… MPs” have resigned from PiS membership, adding that the PiS Political Committee will formally take note of this fact next Tuesday. The PiS leader stressed that every party parliamentarian knew the consequences of failing to sign the statement.

Reacting to Kaczyński’s words, Piotr Müller stated that association members have not resigned from PiS. Writing on the X platform, the MEP maintained that none of the Law and Justice members belonging to the Rozwój Plus association submitted their resignation from the party, and that the presented statements did not concern party membership.

Internal factional conflict between “scouts” and “buttermen”

These events form part of an escalating conflict between supporters of Mateusz Morawiecki, known as the “scouts,” and a group gathered around Przemysław Czarnek, Jacek Sasin, Tobiasz Bocheński, and Patryk Jaki, dubbed the “buttermen.” Politicians from the so-called PC covenant tied to Jarosław Kaczyński and the former Sovereign Poland faction stand closer to the latter group.

A key trigger for the heightened tensions was the decision in March to designate Przemysław Czarnek as the PiS candidate for prime minister, a move interpreted as strengthening his faction. Consequently, Morawiecki began building his own political base and established the “Rozwój Plus” association, which currently counts around 44 PiS parliamentarians. Although officially framed as a platform for program work and expert activation, parts of the party viewed it as an independent structure for the former prime minister’s supporters. The dispute escalated last week when the PiS leadership mandated that members leave associations conducting political activity within the party under threat of expulsion.