Speaking at a meeting with voters in the eastern town of Węgrów on Monday, Kaczyński said uniting right-wing forces was essential to returning to power, arguing that "patriotic forces should win the elections with ease" if they act together.
Kaczyński said the "patriotic camp" included his PiS party as well as several groups associated with the far-right Confederation alliance, including Krzysztof Bosak’s National Movement and Sławomir Mentzen’s New Hope. He also mentioned the Confederation of the Polish Crown, led by controversial MEP Grzegorz Braun, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He acknowledged, however, that the right remains divided and vulnerable to what he termed "various manipulations."
Kaczyński said PiS had already begun work on a new election manifesto, which he said should be "a programme for all patriotic Poles."
At the same time, he voiced skepticism about cooperation with some potential allies. He described Mentzen’s New Hope as promoting “social Darwinism and extreme liberalism” that, he said, disregards the interests of ordinary people, adding that he saw “little scope for cooperation” with the group.
Kaczyński also warned that working with Braun’s Confederation of the Polish Crown could endanger Poland’s security, saying such an alliance would amount to “cutting off ties with the West, especially with the country that guarantees our safety,” an apparent reference to the United States.
By contrast, he spoke favourably of Bosak, calling him a “young politician with very good prospects.”
Responding to criticism that Bosak has not completed a master’s degree, Kaczyński said formal education was not always a measure of competence.
“There are people without degrees who are wise, and people with degrees who are foolish,” he said.
At a parliamentary briefing last week, Kaczyński said he hoped Braun’s party would fail to win seats in parliament, accusing Braun of crossing “the limits that are impassable for politicians in our civilisational sphere.”
He said any future government seeking to ensure Poland’s security could not include or rely on Braun’s supporters.
Political analysts say the PiS party’s most likely post-election partners would come from the Confederation grouping, which includes New Hope and the National Movement, though internal divisions remain.
In late December, PiS and Confederation lawmakers said they viewed President Karol Nawrocki as a possible leader of a right-wing alliance in the upper house of parliament and potentially of a post-election coalition.
Confederation lawmakers have also said they do not rule out cooperation with Braun’s party, though they have rejected the idea of returning to a single political formation with him.
Kaczyński, who led Poland as its most powerful political figure during the PiS party's years in government from 2015 to 2023, vowed last October to engineer a political comeback.
He accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist government of squandering Poland’s development potential.
“We must win the elections,” Kaczyński told supporters at a party convention in the southern city of Katowice at the time. “We must build a programme that appeals to all key groups in our society.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP