"I accept that we have been removed," Morawiecki told reporters on Tuesday before an evening meeting of his Development Plus association.
Morawiecki said last week's comments by PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński had made the decision clear. Kaczyński said more than 30 lawmakers had effectively given up their party membership by failing to submit required declarations.
Kaczyński said last Friday that the dispute was "in some sense, over" and that the party’s leadership still had to complete a formality.
Mateusz Morawiecki and Jarosław Kaczyński. Photos: Agnieszka Bielecka/Tomasz Gzell/PAP
'Bad soap opera'
Morawiecki described Tuesday's announcement by the PiS leadership as an attempt to prolong "a bad soap opera that does not serve Poland."
PiS leaders approved a list of 44 people who had failed to submit the correct declaration by a July 23 deadline, party spokesman Rafał Bochenek said.
The declaration required members to state that they did not belong to political associations. The measure was aimed primarily at members of Development Plus, which Morawiecki says he founded as a "platform for political and economic proposals."
Several people on the list submitted declarations using the wrong form, Bochenek told reporters. The cases have now been referred to the party’s disciplinary officer, who is expected to consider them individually.
PiS maintains that all 44 remain party members until the formal process has been completed.
Morawiecki called the declaration a "loyalty pledge" and said the failure to sign it had resulted in the group's removal.
Morawiecki quits European conservative post
He also said he had resigned on Tuesday as president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), a European alliance of conservative political parties.
Morawiecki said the decision followed the PiS leadership's move against his supporters. He added that he had informed the leaders of the ECR Party’s member organizations some time earlier.
The former prime minister, who headed Poland's government from 2017 to 2023, said voters were uninterested in party committees and disciplinary procedures.
He argued that the conservative opposition should instead focus on scrutinizing Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist government and preparing new policies.
Morawiecki said Development Plus members would discuss their next steps on Tuesday evening.
European Parliament lawmaker Piotr Müller, who previously served as spokesman for Morawiecki's government, said the association would provide details on Wednesday following a meeting of its lawmakers.
Morawiecki also said that more PiS politicians could join the association. He indicated that one such move had already been agreed and could be announced on Wednesday.
Müller said Morawiecki’s supporters regarded Kaczyński's July 24 statement as an unambiguous decision that they were no longer members of PiS.
"We treat the party leader's words seriously," Müller said.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR/PAP