As expected, Zbigniew Ziobro, the former justice minister who until recently was the deputy leader of Law and Justice (PiS), has been booted out of the party along with two of his two fellow MEPs and political allies, Jacek Kurski and Tadeuesz Cymański. The trio were expelled from PiS for recent public criticism of the way the party functions.
Although Mr Ziobro said he and his colleagues would appeal the decision, it is clear a new right-wing political party is in the making. In reaction to Mr Ziobro's expulsion, 16 PiS MPs and one PiS senator have decided to break away and form their own parliamentary caucus, called “Solidarna Polska” (Solidarity Poland, roughly translated).
The speaker of the new caucus, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, said the members did not intend to leave PiS, but rather to create changes that will allow the party to win the next election. That's nonsense. The MPs and senator are perfectly aware that forming their own parliamentary caucus is tantamount to their exit from PiS.
Another promising start
An SMG KRC poll conducted over the weekend revealed that 9 percent of voters would be willing to support a new Ziobro-led political party. The poll also saw PiS's current support levels at 21 percent, down from the almost 30 percent it received in last month's parliamentary elections.
This was good news for the “Ziobrists,” as they call themselves, but it is worth remembering that a group of politicians who broke away from PiS last year (and formed Poland Comes First – PJN) also had similar polling results at first, only to receive less than 3 percent of the vote in the October 9 parliamentary elections.
But the Ziobrists are savvier and more cynical politicians than their colleagues from PJN, meaning they are more likely to succeed on the political scene.
It was expected that Father Director Tadeusz Rydzyk, the controversial Toruń-based priest and media mogul, would back the Ziobrists, but his journalists have so far taken a neutral stance on the issue, adopting a “let's wait and see approach.”
Father Rydzyk said on his television station, TRWAM, that “one should not rule out the activities of the evil one … the devil always divides.” He did not, however, reveal through whom he felt the devil was working this time around.
Right now, the Ziobrists certainly have some momentum on their side and they have definitely weakened PiS. But they will need to work very hard to maintain that momentum.
New parliament
Meanwhile, this week sees the start of the new parliamentary term. It is still not clear who will be in Prime Minister Donald Tusk's new government, but it is becoming increasingly evident that Grzegorz Schetyna, the Sejm speaker in the previous parliamentary term and the deputy leader of PO, will be playing a much lesser role this time around.
There is now talk suggesting that he will not even be offered a ministerial post. But Donald Tusk is taking his time in making his decisions. We won't even hear his plans for the future until the first week of December, when he addresses parliament, a full two months after the parliamentary elections.
Let's hope it will be worth the wait.
