At midnight on Thursday, the deadline expired for Law and Justice (PiS) MPs to comply with the party leadership’s ultimatum requiring them to declare they were not members of any associations—under penalty of expulsion. The ultimatum primarily targeted members of Rozwój Plus, founded by Morawiecki. On Friday, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński announced that “thirty‑something” MPs had “resigned from membership,” a decision expected to be approved by the PiS Political Committee on Tuesday. Morawiecki, meanwhile, said his association currently includes 40 MPs, one senator, and three MEPs.
Speaking on Telewizja Republika on Saturday afternoon, Morawiecki said that “everything revolves around how to defeat Donald Tusk’s government,” adding that this is also the guiding premise of his own actions. He argued that despite changes on the Polish political scene in recent years, the United Right managed to defeat Tusk twice during the period when he led the government for six years and oversaw economic policy for eight years. “During that time, the Confederation still had just over 7 percent of the vote in 2023,” he noted.
He said this success stemmed primarily from his ability to govern. “I can govern, and I know how to win against Donald Tusk. And I think that is the most important thing today—that the entire right should be able to develop an appropriate strategy to defeat Donald Tusk. There is no hegemon on the Polish right today. We must learn to cooperate. Disputes within the right are like family disputes. But disputes with the ruling coalition, with Donald Tusk’s government, are about defending Poland from devastation—about defending Poland from political vandalism,” he said.
Morawiecki added that Rozwój Plus was created to bring together what he described as the key elements of past right‑wing victories. “I’m not saying I’m the biggest right‑winger or the biggest conservative. I’m saying that I know how to win against Donald Tusk, because we defeated him twice when I was prime minister. That was the strength of the Polish right. And that is why Rozwój Plus was founded—to combine two fundamental dimensions: identity, commitment to Polish tradition, faith, culture, family values, and also a commitment to ambitious development.”
Asked whether he felt responsible for the split within PiS, Morawiecki replied: “No, because I fought for unity until the last moment; we reached out for reconciliation.” He said that he and other members of the association wanted to continue functioning as one organization “breathing with two healthy lungs.” “Meanwhile, one healthy lung has been amputated, and we have been pushed out,” he said.
When asked whether they were ready to establish a political party, Morawiecki responded: “There is no debate among us on this matter today. The fact that there is no debate is the best confirmation of how surprised we were by this very brutal expulsion from PiS. We did not want this until the very end and fought until the very end for reconciliation.”
He also denied having reached any agreement with the Polish People’s Party (PSL) or Poland 2050. “Not only am I not in agreement, but I have not held such talks at all, and I do not intend to hold such talks. Even if it is weak support like a reed, anyone who supports this government today is not a partner for me,” he said.
Morawiecki was also asked how he intends to communicate with PiS politicians who remained in the party. “Just like in politics generally—through various formats, behind‑the‑scenes meetings, sometimes revealed by the media, sometimes not. Politics is about conversations. And I am not distancing myself from conversations with anyone who is an enemy of Donald Tusk,” he said.
(pu)
Source: PAP