Poland’s nationalists won’t go quietly

Law and Justice have no clear path to government, but that won’t stop them from trying.

Mateusz Morawiecki, left, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, centre, the leaders of the Law and Justice party, have the first chance to form a coalition. Photo by Andrzej Iwanczuk/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, stuck to protocol and on Monday (6 November) gave the first mandate to form a government to the current prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, and his Law and Justice party (PiS). It seems a hopeless endeavour, and a waste of time for the opposition.

PiS did indeed come first in elections in October, but with 194 seats, it needs another 37 to ensure a majority. No other party is volunteering to step forward for this role. By contrast the three main opposition groups have declared their desire to form a government together, and have a comfortable majority of 248 seats in the 460 seat assembly.