Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska and Elizabeth Jakubiak

MPs Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska and Elizabeth Jakubiak, expelled from Law and Justice on Friday for “activities harmful to the party” say they will not now be joining the ruling Civic Platform.

“I do not want to be in Civic Platform, I believe that today it is my responsibility to side with Poles against the devastation of public life in Poland, which is in the iron grip of Law and Justice and Civic Platform,” said Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska, Saturday morning.

Both Kluzik-Rostkowska and Jakubiak were seen as part of a more moderate, younger face of the opposition Law and Justice, whose remarks challenging the direction the party was heading in angered party elders such as leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his possible heir-apparent, MEP Zbigniew Ziobro.

Law and Justice’s leader in Parliament Mariusz Błaszczak announced at a press conference on Friday that the party had decided to expel Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska and  Elżbieta Jakubiak‘s membership, for “activities that were harmful to the party” during the local government campaign.

All major parties are currently campaigning for local government elections on 21 November.

Opinion poll

In a snap opinion poll for Polish Radio by the Homo Homini Institute 56 percent say dismissing the two MPs was a misjudgement by the Law and Justice leadership.

Twenty one percent think it was a good decision and 23 percent had no view on the issue.

The survey was conducted by telephone on November 5 from a sample of 1,100 people. (pg)

source: IAR/PAP