The creation of the new Center parliamentary club means for Poland by 2050 the loss of one of three ministries and the chairmanship of most Sejm committees. The group also lost almost its entire representation in the Senate and its only MEP. This party still has a strong representation of deputy ministers.
The disintegration of Poland 2050
On Wednesday, Minister of Climate and Environment Paulina Hennig-Kloska announced that together with a group of parliamentarians – 15 MPs and 3 senators – she will create a new parliamentary club called Centrum. Its members declared further cooperation with the government and their willingness to join the coalition on October 15 as a new entity.
On the same day, the head of Poland 2050, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, maintained – although indirectly – the expectation of receiving the position of deputy prime minister. She also stated that people who decided to leave the group and took up the positions of ministers or deputy ministers on the recommendation of her party no longer have these recommendations. She added that in practice, their future depends on the Civic Coalition.
Government spokesman Adam Szłapka, asked by PAP whether changing the coalition agreement and adding a fifth coalition partner was an option, said: “I am not aware of any planned changes” He also added that he knew nothing about possible changes in the government. Prime Minister Donald Tusk, referring on Thursday to the situation in Poland by 2050, said that it does not threaten the stability of the government coalition. He also assured that the main actors have clearly declared that they will remain loyal partners – towards the government and the coalition.
“Possession” of both parties
The establishment of the Centrum club means that Poland 2050 lost the Ministry of Climate and Environment, headed by Hennig-Kloskaone of the three ministries over which this group has so far had direct control.
The resort that still belongs to Poland 2050 is Ministry of Funds and Regional Policyheaded by the current party chairwoman, and Ministry of Culture and National Heritage headed by Marta Cienkowska. Adriana Porowska, who is secretary of state in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, also remained in the party.
The MPs of the new Centrum club are the chairmen of three of the five parliamentary committees, which has so far been led by Poland 2050. These are: the Committees on Economy and Development – chaired by Rafał Komarewicz, Infrastructure – headed by Mirosław Suchoń, and the Deregulation Committee – chaired by Ryszard Petru.
Currently, the Polish 2050 MPs chair two parliamentary committees: the Justice and Human Rights Committee – headed by Paweł Śliz and the Parliamentary Ethics Committee – headed by Ewa Schaedler (the chairmanship of this committee is rotating, the head of the committee changes every 6 months).
Simultaneously, Pełczyńska-Nałęcz's group has two important positions in parliament: the function of deputy speaker of the Sejm, held by Szymon Hołownia, and deputy speaker of the Senate, held by Maciej Żywno, who is currently the only senator of this group.
Four out of five politicians who ran as Third Way candidates for the Senate left Poland 2050. Three of them: Grzegorz Fedorowicz, Piotr Masłowski and Jacek Trela joined the Center. MEP Michał Kobosko, who was the only representative of Poland 2050 in the European Parliament, also decided to cooperate with the Centrum club.
Żywno remains the only senator representing Poland 2050 in the Senate. The fifth current senator of Poland 2050, Mirosław Różański, did not join the Centrum club. His departure from the party means that Poland 2050 lost the chairmanship of the Senate National Defense Committee – the only committee headed by a politician of this group.
In the government – despite the division – Poland 2050 retains the vast majority of positions. The following members remain in the group: deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ignacy Niemczycki, deputy head of the Ministry of Finance Jan Szyszko, government plenipotentiary for disabled people Maja Nowak, deputy head of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Marek Krawczyk, deputy head of the MC Michał Gramatyka, deputy head of the Ministry of National Education Izabela Ziętka, deputy head of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education Andrzej Szeptycki, and deputy head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy Katarzyna Nowakowska.
According to PAP information, the situation in the context of party affiliation regarding the deputy head of the Ministry of Culture, Mikołaj Dorożała, is uncertain, because his direct superior in the ministry is Hennig-Kloska, and at the moment he has not decided to leave Poland 2050. Functions in the government on the recommendation of Poland 2050 are also held by non-partisans: deputy head of the Ministry of Culture and Environment Konrad Bolesta, deputy minister of finance Jarosław Neneman and Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Michał Baranowski.
Two MPs also left the Polish 2050 structure: Joanna Mucha and Paweł Zalewski announced that they would remain unaffiliated. Zalewski is currently the Deputy Minister of National Defense on behalf of Poland 2050.
Deputy Prime Minister, head of the Ministry of National Defence, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, asked on Thursday whether he expected any changes in the composition of ministers or deputy ministers in connection with the division of Poland 2050, replied that he was planning to dismiss Deputy Minister Paweł Zalewski in his ministry, even though Poland 2050 had withdrawn his recommendation. – I believe that his involvement today and his usefulness in the relations of building international security for Poland is very important – Kosiniak-Kamysz noted.
15 MPs from Poland 2050 joined the Centrum club – this is the minimum number required to create a club in the Sejm. They are: Elżbieta Burkiewicz, Sławomir Ćwik, Rafał Kasprzyk, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, Rafał Komarewicz, Aleksandra Leo, Barbara Okuła, Barbara Oliwiecka, Ryszard Petru, Norbert Pietrykowski, Marcin Skonieczka, Mirosław Suchoń, Ewa Szymanowska and Żaneta Cwalina-Śliwowska and an unaffiliated MP, Izabela Bodnar, which left Poland 2050 in July last year.
There are also 15 MPs left in the Poland 2050 club: Szymon Hołownia, Paweł Śliz, Agnieszka Burzyńska, Michał Gramatyka, Maja Nowak, Piotr Górnikiewicz, Adam Gomoła, Bartosz Romowicz, Wioleta Tomczak, Piotr Strach, Łukasz Osmalak, Kamil Wnuk, Adam Luboński, Ewa Schaedler and Bożenna Hołownia.
The tense situation in Poland 2050 has been growing since the second round of elections for the new party leader was invalidated in January. Hennig-Kloska and Pełczyńska-Nałęcz competed for leadership in the group. Three factions were formed in the party: both candidates and Hołownia, and ideas of invalidating the entire elections and Hołownia running in new ones also appeared on internal forums.
The dispute also concerned the issue of filling vacancies in the National Council and the dismissal of Paweł Śliz from the position of head of the parliamentary club, as proposed by the Hennig-Kloski faction. The turning point was Saturday's National Council, which obliged party members to stop “escalating tensions” by the National Congress scheduled for March 21. Until then, disciplinary proceedings were also suspended and all personnel changes were suspended. The resolution was poorly received by some activists who described it as “muzzled”.
Patryk Barej (PAP)
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