Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska; photo - east newsJoanna Kluzik-Rostkowska, one of opposition Law and Justice’s moderate ‘doves’ says she is willing to challenge leading ‘hawk’ Zbigniew Ziobro for the leadership of the party “if need be”.
“Yes - I'm ready to challenge Zbigniew Ziobro,” Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska tells money.pl in the latest round of the conflict for the soul of the party.
Cracks appeared in Law and Justice (PiS) unity in September when MEP Marek Migalski was expelled from the party in the European Parliament and MP Elzbieta Jakubiak was suspended after voicing criticisms of Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s aggressive leadership style after the summer’s presidential election campaign.
War and PiS
The ‘doves’ led by Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska call for a more consensual political style while former justice minister and now MEP Zbigniew Ziobro is thought to be the leader of the ‘hawks’, who urged Jaroslaw Kaczynski to return to the attack after he presented a calmer persona during the election campaign.
If Law and Justice do badly in the local elections on November 21 and December 5 – as seems likely if opinion polls are to be believed – then pressure on Jaroslaw Kaczynski to stand down will mount and a leadership contest between the two wings of Law and Justice could be bloody.
Asked if she thinks she has a chance of winning such a contest, Kluzik-Rostkowska said: “We'll see. But I think I will have a chance.”
“During the presidential campaign I proposed a policy of dialogue and peaceful but meaningful debate, and I am convinced that this is a good way of doing politics,” she added.
Asked if she was scared that she might be drummed out of the party if she challenged the current leadership she said: “If I was afraid, then I would not be a politician.”
Ziobro de facto leader?
Even though Jaroslaw Kaczynski remains party leader, according to MEP Marek Migalski it is hard-liner Zbigniew Ziobro who de facto makes all the party decisions.
In his blog, Migalski writes that Kaczynski “does not take the decisions, although officially nothing happens with his approval,” adding that “in fact the party is dominated by Ziobro and his people.”
Commenting on party discipline, according to Migalski, there are “equal and more equal” members of Law and Justice.
The opinion refers to mixed reactions to interviews given by party members over the botched presidential campaign: Jacek Kurski, who got away scott-free, and Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska who got slammed by the party leadership for voicing criticism. (pg/jb)