“It was stated several times during the meeting of the Political Committee’s presidium that Prof. Przemysław Czarnek is our candidate for prime minister,” Law and Justice spokesman Rafał Bochenek said following Wednesday’s meeting of the party leadership.
PiS has decided to prohibit its members from participating in associations, foundations and other organisations of a political nature. The decision concerns, among others, the Rozwój Plus association founded by former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
“It was stated several times”
Asked whether Przemysław Czarnek would definitely remain the party’s candidate for prime minister, the PiS spokesman confirmed that he would.
“As a matter of fact, it was stated several times during the meeting of the Political Committee’s presidium that Prof. Przemysław Czarnek is our candidate for prime minister,”
he said.
Bochenek added that Czarnek remained in “constant contact” with PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński.
The decision concerning political associations was first reported by Jarosław Olechowski, TV Republika’s head of publishing. Shortly afterwards, following a meeting of the PiS leadership at the party’s headquarters on Nowogrodzka Street in Warsaw, the decision was officially announced by party spokesman Rafał Bochenek.
He explained that the resolution adopted by the committee “prohibits members of the Law and Justice party from operating within or participating in associations, foundations and other organisations of a political nature.” He added that the decision had been taken “to preserve the party’s ideological, organisational and political unity.”
According to Bochenek, the resolution states that “members of Law and Justice should not participate in the activities, meetings, events or projects organised by such organisations unless those organisations operate with the approval of the party leadership.”
“Members of Law and Justice who belong to such organisations should, of course, immediately cease their activities within them and withdraw from those organisations within seven days,”
he added.
Bochenek also stressed that the controversy surrounding Przemysław Czarnek’s comments on aid for Ukraine had already been resolved and that “there was no dispute.” He said Jarosław Kaczyński and the party’s candidate for prime minister “think along very similar lines.”
On Tuesday, the PiS leader announced that the party leadership would address Czarnek’s comments concerning assistance for Ukraine. Speaking on TV Republika on Monday, Czarnek said Poland should use its position in the European Union and NATO to pressure Ukraine into changing its policy towards Poland and to compel the EU to suspend funding for Ukraine’s reconstruction “until Ukraine embraces pro-human values.”
Bochenek stressed that Czarnek’s remarks had not been discussed during the meeting because “the matter had already been clarified.”
“There was no dispute here. The two men think in very similar terms,” the PiS spokesman said. He added that “the meaning of the two statements is not contradictory in any way.”
In his view, “the issue is simply that the media attempted to give Czarnek’s words a somewhat different meaning from the one they actually had.”