Former Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced that he intends to step down as president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR). However, he added that if he is asked to remain in the post, he will consider “what to do next”.
Morawiecki announced his intention to resign as ECR president during an interview with Kanał Zero on Monday evening.
“I am the president of the ECR Party. I intend to submit my resignation. I may do so very soon, (…) unless I am asked to continue, in which case I will consider what to do next,”
he said.
He explained that the position of ECR president had been “allocated to the second-largest party within the ECR, namely Law and Justice”.
He also referred to Rozwój Plus, an association he founded.
“Our delegation, should we establish one, will certainly not be the second largest, so in such circumstances it is appropriate to act honourably,”
he said.
At midnight last Thursday, a deadline expired for Law and Justice MPs and senators to submit declarations confirming that they did not belong to associations engaged in activities “of a political nature”. Those who failed to do so faced expulsion from the party. The ultimatum was primarily aimed at Morawiecki’s Rozwój Plus association.
On Friday, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński said that a group of party politicians had relinquished their membership, knowing the consequences of refusing to sign the declaration. The PiS Political Committee is expected to formally approve the decisions at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Following Kaczyński’s statement on Friday, Morawiecki said that his political camp comprised “40 MPs, one senator and three members of the European Parliament”.
Politicians associated with Morawiecki stressed that they had not resigned from PiS and that the declaration did not concern party membership. Morawiecki and his allies also claimed that “schemers” were seeking to “force” them out of PiS.
Morawiecki was elected president of the ECR Party by acclamation in early January last year. His candidacy was put forward by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The ECR is a right-wing European political party whose members also include the Czech Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Sweden Democrats. The US Republican Party is one of the ECR’s partner parties.