Government spokesperson Adam Szłapka said Grzegorz Braun is the primary driver behind the internal disputes within the Law and Justice (PiS) party.
This assessment suggests a significant shift in the power dynamics of Poland's most prominent conservative party, implying that its longtime leader no longer dictates the internal agenda.
Speaking on the TVN24 program “Jeden na jeden,” Szłapka said that Jarosław Kaczyński is not steering the current party conflict. He said that Kaczyński has put many party members — whom he described as “harcerzy” or scouts — on a waiting list [1].
According to Szłapka, the lack of leadership control has left the party vulnerable to outside influence. He said that the ultimate player in the current political game is neither Kaczyński nor Mateusz Morawiecki, but rather Grzegorz Braun [1].
Szłapka said that Kaczyński does not control the process [2]. This internal instability is reflected in the party's administrative failures. More than 40 members of Law and Justice have failed to submit statements of non-participation in associations [1].
This lack of compliance among party members suggests a breakdown in discipline and a growing rift between the party's rank-and-file and its executive leadership. The spokesperson said that the current state of the party is a result of Kaczyński stepping back from direct control, which has allowed Braun to exert influence over the internal dispute [2].
“Kaczyński does not control the process.”
The claims made by Szłapka point to a potential crisis of legitimacy for Jarosław Kaczyński's leadership. If a party leader is perceived as 'waiting out' his own members while a peripheral figure like Grzegorz Braun directs the strategy, it indicates a fragmentation of the PiS ideological core. The failure of over 40 members to follow administrative directives further suggests that the party's traditional top-down command structure is eroding.
