Poland’s main rightwing opposition splits after loyalty pledge ultimatum

Mateusz Morawiecki said his group ‘until the very last moment fought for the unity of the party’. Photograph: Radek Pietruszka/EPA View image in fullscreen Mateusz Morawiecki said his group ‘until the very last moment fought for the unity of the party’. Photograph: Radek Pietruszka/EPA Poland’s main rightwing opposition splits after loyalty pledge ultimatum Former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki and allies say they were forced out over factional disagreements Poland’s main opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party has split, after former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his allies said they were forced out over factional disagreements on policy direction ahead of next year’s parliamentary election. Speaking at a press conference, the party’s longtime leader , Jarosław Kaczyński, said dozens of members of parliament effectively left the party after refusing to sign a loyalty oath. All those who refused to sign the pledge were deemed by Kaczyński to have effectively resigned from the party. The rebel MPs insisted they did not intend to leave, but conceded they may be formally expelled at a party meeting on Tuesday. “Everyone knew what they were signing, and at the same time everyone knew what the consequences of not signing would be … It’s all done,” Kaczyński said, adding that the decision will be formally processed during the party’s leadership meeting on Tuesday. Law and Justice is one of Poland’s two most successful political parties since 1989, having ruled the country for 10 years in 2005-2007 and 2015-2023, with its candidates winning four out of eight presidential elections. Despite losing to a coalition of pro-European parties led by former European Council president Donald Tusk and going into opposition at the last election in 2023, PiS remained the largest party in the Polish parliament – a status it could lose as a result of the split. The resignations come after months of increasingly bitter disagreements in Poland’s main opposition party as it lost its grip on the Polish right. Over the past two years, it struggled to respond to the emerging libertarian-right Confederation and the far-right ethno-nationalist Confederation of the Polish Crown, splitting the conservative vote into three. In April, Morawiecki, who served as Poland’s prime minister between 2017 and 2023 , set up a growth-oriented policy group in a bid to broaden the party’s electoral appeal on the centre-right. It is planning to host its inaugural public event later this month. But the move was harshly criticised by Kaczyński and his allies, who questioned the former prime minister’s loyalty amid rumours of his growing disenchantment with the party’s drift towards the nationalist right and interests of the older electorate. View image in fullscreen Party leader Jarosław Kaczyński told MPs to sign a loyalty pledge committing them not to work with any other political groups. Photograph: Leszek Szymański/EPA After tense talks behind closed doors, Kaczyński told all MPs t