Robert Telus, the agriculture minister and a prominent member of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, has expressed concerns about the party’s future if its long-standing leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, were to step down. Telus’s remarks were in response to comments made by Marcin Mastalerek, an aide to President Andrzej Duda, who suggested that Kaczynski retire from politics after the PiS’s unsuccessful election campaign. According to Mastalerek, he sees President Duda as the party’s future leader.
Telus vehemently rejected this scenario in an interview with the Polish newspaper Super Express. He emphasized, “There is no other person who can bind all the factions in the Law and Justice Party like Jaroslaw Kaczynski.” Telus acknowledged President Duda’s charisma but voiced his fears that without Kaczynski, the party might crumble. He added, “I fear that if Jaroslaw Kaczynski is missing from the Law and Justice Party, everything will fall apart. That is why our political competitors are so keen for Jaroslaw Kaczynski to retire.”
The uncertainty surrounding Kaczynski’s future has fueled intense speculation about the direction the party might take. At 74 years old, Kaczynski has been at the helm of PiS since 2003, raising questions about the party’s stability in his potential absence. As Poland awaits further developments, the nation remains on edge, observing closely the internal dynamics of the Law and Justice Party, which has been a dominant force in Polish politics for nearly two decades.