Morawiecki leaves PiS and founds his own faction in the Sejm

The split had been expected for days. A PiS body had actually been scheduled to decide on Tuesday evening on the expulsion of Morawiecki and his supporters from the party. According to the report's account, however, Kaczynski was set on tactical manoeuvring: he did not want to grant Morawiecki and his supporters the triumph of a formal expulsion and had wanted to delay the break. The competent body ultimately referred the matter to the PiS disciplinary officer.

The trigger was a power struggle between Kaczynski and Morawiecki. Kaczynski had issued an ultimatum and demanded the dissolution of the group as well as the signing of a declaration of loyalty by all members. Morawiecki rejected both demands and declared that he would not engage in these party-political "games." "Sollen die machen, was sie wollen", he said.

Goals of the new formation

Previously, Morawiecki had already co-founded the internal party group "Development Plus" together with other representatives of the economically liberal wing. He also refused to follow the rightward shift of the party ordered by Kaczynski. Kaczynski, for his part, had insisted on a strict course and signalled no willingness to compromise.

Morawiecki announced that he would present programmatic details of his new formation in the coming days. He stated the goal of the grouping: "Wir wollen für die Entwicklung Polens und die konservative Identität arbeiten." With the phrase "Wir gehen weiter" he affirmed his intention to remain politically active.

PiS in opposition since 2023

PiS ("Prawo i Sprawiedliwość", in English: Law and Justice) had governed Poland from 2015 to 2023. During this period, the party restructured, among other things, the judiciary, which led, among other things, to a confrontation with the EU Commission. In the parliamentary election in October 2023, PiS lost power and has since been the strongest opposition force in the country.

In the Sejm, the first chamber of the Polish parliament, the right-conservative PiS had previously been represented by 181 members of parliament. In the Senate, the second chamber, it held 33 seats. As a result of the break, the party is losing a significant share of its officeholders.

With the new faction around Morawiecki, the balance of forces in the Polish parliament is shifting. The grouping sees itself as economically liberal and conservative and could in future act as an independent bloc between the previous PiS faction and other opposition or moderate formations. Morawiecki intends to present programmatic priorities in the coming days.

Political observers view the move as a historic turning point for PiS, which for decades under Kaczynski's leadership had been regarded as a tightly organised party. With Morawiecki's departure and the formation of a new faction, the party is losing one of its most prominent representatives and part of its economically liberal current.