Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jarosław Kaczyński said on Monday that “if Confederation politicians go to the Civic Platform and form a government with them, they will end up on the anti-Polish, anti-patriotic side—something that can be called national treason.” He added: “I don’t know how their electorate will react to that.”
On Monday evening, the head of PiS spoke at the BHP Hall in the Gdańsk Shipyard, where he met with supporters of his party. During the meeting in Gdańsk, Kaczyński argued that Poland needs a strong government.
“Many people in Poland today think the road to such a government is like a highway on a beautiful sunny day. Dry, with not too many cars, you just press the gas and drive—just watch out for speed cameras,” Kaczyński said. “Meanwhile, the truth is, unfortunately, much more complicated.”
The PiS leader pointed out that politics has its own dynamics and that repeating the result of the presidential election—over 10.5 million votes—is a very difficult undertaking. He stressed that he fears such a number will again be needed in order to win the parliamentary elections.
“Secondly, there is an issue that has so badly disturbed public awareness, and which I decided—after much thought—to finally address. Because there has already been too much of it on the part of our potential partners, and I still do not reject this partnership,” Kaczyński said. “To put it in everyday language—damn the attacks, even the offensive and at the same time idiotic ones,” he added.
What looked much more serious, according to Kaczyński, were the declarations—coming from the leaders of Confederation—that they are ready to form a government with Civic Platform.
“Such declarations exist. Mentzen says it, and Bosak says it,” Kaczyński stated, adding that he hadn’t heard Grzegorz Braun say the same. At the same time, he assessed that “with Braun’s rhetoric, we could not be in the West or in an alliance with the United States, which, for our security, is fundamental.”
Referring to the Confederation politicians’ remarks, Kaczyński said that “they” want to use such statements to strengthen their position vis-à-vis PiS. He added that he wanted to make it clear that “they will not succeed.” He also stressed that if Confederation “goes to the Platform and forms a government with them, they will end up on the anti-Polish, anti-patriotic side—something that can be called national treason.” He added: “I don’t know how their electorate will react to that.”
At the end of his more than half-hour speech, the PiS leader announced that the party will hold a policy convention at the end of October. “We need a new program for Poland,” Kaczyński said. He added that his political camp faces “a tough fight.”