Jaroslaw Kaczynski during a speech in Katowice about the PiS party program, on October 25, 2025.Image: keystone
Poland’s largest opposition party has split. After a dispute over the direction of the right-wing conservative PiS, more than 30 MPs led by former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki are leaving the party.
July 24, 2026, 2:13 p.mJuly 24, 2026, 2:13 p.m
Poland’s largest opposition party has split. After a dispute over the direction of the right-wing conservative PiS, more than 30 MPs led by former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki are leaving the party.
The exact number has not yet been determined, said party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski in Warsaw. He left it open whether Morawiecki himself was among them.
The background is a conflict over the future direction of the party. In March, the 77-year-old Kaczynski named the right-wing hardliner Przemyslaw Czarnek as a candidate for prime minister in the 2027 parliamentary election. The nomination showed that Kaczynski is hoping to win over voters from right-wing radical parties.
Former head of government stands up against right-wing drift
The economically liberal deputy party leader Morawiecki feels duped by this decision. Together with other moderate PiS representatives, he founded a group called “Development Plus” in the spring. He demanded that the PiS must become a large center-right party again: “There are thousands of people in my group who want to reach entrepreneurs and young people.”
Mateusz Morawiecki speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, Hungary, March 21, 2026.Image: keystone
Ultimatum passes without result
But the group was a thorn in Kaczynski’s side. He issued an ultimatum demanding their dissolution and wanted all members to sign a declaration of solidarity by Thursday. Morawiecki refused both. A crisis meeting on Thursday was unsuccessful.
The right-wing conservative PiS, whose name “Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc” translates as law and justice, ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023. During this time, it significantly restructured the justice system, which led, among other things, to a confrontation with the EU Commission. In October 2023, the PiS lost the parliamentary election and has since become the country’s largest opposition party. (sda/dpa)