Poland’s former PM accuses Kaczyński of radicalising PiS

{"text":[[{"start":7.94,"text":"Mateusz Morawiecki has accused his former party leader Jarosław Kaczyński of radicalising Poland’s rightwing opposition after he and dozens of allies were forced out of Law and Justice (PiS) ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections."}],[{"start":22.22,"text":"PiS’s disciplinary court this month expelled 40 lawmakers, including Morawiecki, turning an internal succession struggle into the most serious challenge to Kaczyński since he launched PiS 25 years ago."}],[{"start":35.64,"text":"Morawiecki, a former Polish prime minister, in an interview blamed Kaczyński for allowing extremist politicians to push PiS further right over the past year: “The strategy of the leadership was to radicalise the party, but we can see after 12 months that this strategy hasn’t worked and our support has dropped.”"}],[{"start":55.16,"text":"Kaczyński has accused Morawiecki of deliberately fragmenting PiS “at the most inopportune moment”, ahead of next year’s elections. “For Mateusz Morawiecki, the enemy is not [Prime Minister Donald] Tusk, but me and Law and Justice,” Kaczyński wrote on X earlier this month."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":71.76,"text":"Morawiecki, 58, told the FT: “I forgive him all those untrue statements and I will not engage in revenge or tit-for-tat.”"}],[{"start":80.04,"text":"He argued that PiS’s declining popularity in opinion polls also showed the party “cannot find the appropriate language to communicate with younger people”."}],[{"start":88.48,"text":"His new party, Development Plus, which he expects to launch in October, would appeal to conservative voters who are “not so emotional about politics”."}],[{"start":97.24,"text":"Asked whether PiS’s problems were linked to Kaczyński, 77, refusing to make way for a younger party leader and holding on too long, as Joe Biden did in the US, Morawiecki said that “I think that he is in much better condition” than the former US president."}],[{"start":110.64,"text":"Morawiecki said Kaczyński’s suggestion that he could step down if PiS lost the next elections had sharpened the succession battle. “This is probably why some other party leaders wanted to push [me] out.” He said their “major objective is to take control after President Kaczyński”."}],[{"start":127.6,"text":"Kaczyński had intended to mobilise PiS before the elections, Morawiecki added, but risked creating “a self-fulfilling prophecy” of defeat."}],[{"start":136.56,"text":"Tusk has sought to exploit the split, saying recently that he was watching the PiS break-up “with a smile” and comparing it to a television soap opera. “I quite like this show,” he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":147.24,"text":"This week Tusk also called Morawiecki’s hardline migration plans “absolutely shameless” after the former prime minister proposed creating a department to oversee the deportation of illegal migrants. He accused Morawiecki of having been “a visa trader” while in office, referring to a 2023 scandal over the illegal sale of Polish visas during the PiS government."}],[{"start":168.16,"text":"Morawiecki struck a more EU-friendly note than some lower-ranking PiS politicians who he claimed have suggested Poland’s strong economic growth could allow it to follow the UK in leaving the bloc."}],[{"start":178.48,"text":"“Some people want to persuade public opinion that we . . . can build up our economy in separation from others,” Morawiecki said. “But as a former finance minister and banker, I don’t believe in a Polish policy of isolationism.”"}],[{"start":191.16,"text":"He added: “I believe that the European Union requires huge repair, huge changes and reforms, but I want us to be part of this change and not make the European Union fall apart.”"}],[{"start":201.44,"text":"Since this summer’s PiS split, Tusk’s party has consolidated its lead in the polls, with the latest Ibris survey putting it on 27.5 per cent, against 16.9 per cent for PiS. Morawiecki’s formation was on 7.8 per cent, trailing two far-right parties."}],[{"start":218.54,"text":"But with no party likely to win a parliamentary majority, next year’s election is expected to turn on coalition negotiations among parties that clear the 5 per cent threshold to enter parliament. PiS won the most votes in 2023 but was unable to find enough partners to form a government."}],[{"start":237.52,"text":"Morawiecki forecast that his party would gain momentum after its official launch and “will be fighting for a double-digit result”. He said his priority was to oust Tusk, but he did not rule out talks with the premier’s more conservative coalition partners, notably the agrarian Polish People’s Party."}],[{"start":254.04,"text":"“I’m the kind of guy who can talk to almost everybody,” Morawiecki said."}],[{"start":263.27,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787296235_9597.mp3"}