Artificial smiles on Nowogrodzka Street. Kaczyński appeals for unity, factions continue to fight
At the PiS club meeting, the atmosphere was only seemingly good, because it was clear that there was no sympathy between each other – a source associated with PiS told PAP. The MPs talked, among others: about the program, collecting funds for the campaign, media discipline, and the PiS leadership discussed the technical premiere.
On Wednesday afternoon at the PiS headquarters at ul. A meeting of the Presidium of the PiS Political Committee was held at Nowogrodzka Street in Warsaw. On the same day around 18, the group's parliamentary club also gathered for an away meeting in Sękocin Stary, near Warsaw.
“Those who didn't like each other still don't like each other”
A PiS politician who wished to remain anonymous, when asked about his feelings after Wednesday's meetings and the current state of conflicts between factions in the party, said that “those who didn't like each other still don't like each other – everyone stuck to their point.” – At the PiS club meeting, the atmosphere was only seemingly good. Of course, everyone was smiling and wishing them all the best in the new year, but it was clear that in factional subgroups people did not feel sympathy or the desire to stay together longer than necessary, the politician reported.
Technical Prime Minister?
He added that reports from Committee members show that at the meeting of the Presidium of the Political Committee, an important topic was the motion for a vote of no confidence in the government and the election of a technical prime minister. As Interia reported on Wednesday in the “Polityczny WF” podcast, it could be, among others, former Polish ambassador to NATO Tomasz Szatkowski or former Minister of Development and Technology Piotr Nowak.
– It was actually said that it was to be a young man under 50 years of age and we all laugh through our tears that this candidate could also be Tobiasz Bocheński – emphasizes the PAP source. According to the politician, despite the jokes, the election of MEP Bocheński and one of the new PiS vice-presidents to the temporary position of technical prime minister is not ruled out. – PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński is still somehow fascinated by him – he added.
According to this source, Bocheński is not the most liked within the party, especially by the faction of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The main reason for doubts may be the opinion of PiS politicians, including other factions, that Bocheński has not earned his position.
When asked whether Bocheński's election as technical prime minister could cause a breakup in the party, the politician denied it. – Let us remember that there is no chance of forming a technical government at all – he concluded. Nevertheless, he added, Morawiecki's faction would probably express strong opposition to such a decision. However, the politician did not rule out a more permanent split between this faction and PiS if Bocheński “insisted on being prime minister after the elections, when PiS would form the government.”
Kaczyński warned against competing for radicalism
According to a PAP source, on the other hand, during the evening meeting of the entire club, Kaczyński called for party unity in his speech, talked about the need for a multi-strand formation and perceiving PiS as a “broad tent”. At the same time, the president did not discuss the topic of the technical prime minister at all with the parliamentarians. Kaczyński allegedly pointed out that the party needed both a centrist and right-wing faction and warned against competing for radicalism with Grzegorz Braun and the Confederation of the Crown of Poland.
There was also talk about building a program for the parliamentary electionswhich is to be developed through a campaign of conferences and debates on topics such as economy, health, agriculture and foreign policy, launched in 2025, organized by, among others, chairman of the PiS program council, Piotr Gliński. PAP's source informed that ideas regarding the PiS program are to be included in a “booklet” and then presented at the program convention in 2027.
PiS treasurer Henryk Kowalczyk had nremind MPs to mobilize to donate money to the election campaign. – Once, the president obliged us to pay PLN 1,000 each. PLN per month from the MP. According to Kowalczyk, this fee is still valid, but no statutory body has formally imposed such a contribution. At the meeting, he talked about payments in the context of a moral and emotional appeal, the politician reported.
PiS on social media
According to this source, the issue of politicians' discipline in social media was also raised – among others: a request to avoid “writing whatever comes to everyone's mind.” In mid-December, PiS spokesman Rafał Bochenek told PAP that, on behalf of the party's leadership, he appealed to the group's members to refrain from bad, ill-considered actions in the context of disputes between factions in PiS. He then emphasized that every public statement and entry regarding internal affairs harms the camp.
– There is subordination to the president's expectations until someone like Jacek Kurski comes out again and says something. This will probably happen quite quickly, because it is impossible to keep such emotions under cover, said the PAP source. Despite everything – as the politician said – the president himself addressed the MPs more as a “carrot than a stick”.
Another PiS politician also confirmed in an interview with PAP that the above-mentioned topics were discussed during the meeting of the parliamentary club.
Morawiecki's conflict with a group of MPs
Since the end of November last year PiS politicians unofficially admit that a conflict has arisen within the group between supporters of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, called “scouts”, and a group of his opponents, gathered, among others, around Przemysław Czarnek, Jacek Sasin, Tobiasz Bocheński and Patryk Jaki, known as the “butters”, or the faction of the former head of the Ministry of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro. In unofficial conversations with PAP, PiS politicians admitted that Morawiecki and his faction were behaving unacceptable from the point of view of party cohesion, even questioning the leadership of President Jarosław Kaczyński and doing everything to get them thrown out.
In mid-December, the former president of TVP, Jacek Kurski, posted an extensive entry on the X platform, in which, among other things, criticized Morawiecki's attitude and his declarations from a recent interview regarding filling positions in the future theoretical PiS government. On the same day, he was answered by, among others: PiS MEPs Waldemar Buda and Piotr Müller, who pointed out the lack of competence to express opinions on elections and make party decisions. After these events, the exchange of opinions between PiS politicians lasted until the end of December.
The last expression of the dispute was the organization in mid-December last year. two competitive Christmas Eve meetings in PiS. One took place at the party headquarters in Warsaw, with the PiS president and party leadership. The second one was organized by Morawiecki and many PiS politicians also showed up. Earlier, Morawiecki, who is the vice-president of PiS, did not take part in a meeting of the party authorities devoted to the situation in the party.
PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński argued on Wednesday after a meeting of the Presidium of the Political Committee that the dreams of his party's opponents about the collapse “will certainly not come true.” He announced that the party, as one, will go to the next elections with a full program appealing to various social groups and needs.
Author: Katarzyna Lendzion (PAP)
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