Overview
- On Friday July 24, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński announced the removal or departure of Mateusz Morawiecki and roughly 30–40 MPs after they refused to sign party loyalty declarations.
- The defections are expected to cut PiS’s Sejm presence to about 140–145 seats from 186, which would leave it smaller than the governing Civic Coalition and weaken its bargaining position in parliament.
- Morawiecki’s group Rozwój Plus plans a July 31 policy gathering and is expected to form a separate parliamentary caucus, though Morawiecki says he and his allies have not yet decided to create a new party.
- Kaczyński’s choice in March of hardliner Przemysław Czarnek as PiS’s prime ministerial candidate exposed the ideological split between a nationalist leadership and Morawiecki’s more moderate, pro-business faction.
- The rupture risks fragmenting the right ahead of the 2027 election, could force new alliances with far-right parties to reach a majority, and raises fresh questions in Brussels about a possible PiS return to power.