Law and Justice (PiS) - Poland’s largest opposition party in parliament - ended their congress on Sunday with leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski calling for a “change in the quality of economic and public life,” and promised he would “be bit different” in the future as party chief.

"Congress is an important step in our journey to a new Poland and the great changes that we need,” he told the party faithful after being voted in, once again, as leader - this time by 999 delegates for, 51 against and 14 abstentions, from a ballot paper with just one name on it.

A few ballots were spoiled, with some crossing out the former prime minister’s name and replacing it with that of MEP Zbigniew Ziobro.

As part of a strategy to claw back the over 20 percentage points that the party trails the ruling Civic Platform in opinion polls, Kaczynski promised that his style as leader, this term, would also change. “The situation is changing, people change; the party is changing, so I will probably a bit different …but still the same,” he promised.

Delegates also officially decided to call on Jaroslaw’s twin brother Lech to stand for a second term in presidential elections this year.

Among the 1200 delegates at the congress in Poznan, western Poland, was former Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek, (pg)

source: PAP/IAR