Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the main opposition right wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, addresses a joint press conference in Warsaw on July 19, 2026.Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images

Watch out Brussels and Kyiv, Poland’s conservatives are veering right – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

Poland’s opposition is shifting further to the right ahead of an election next year and that threatens to have a major impact for the EU and Ukraine.

The nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) that ran the country from 2015 to 2023 — picking repeated battles with Brussels over rule of law and LGBTQ+ rights — split last Friday. At its heart, the feud centers on a clash between iron-fisted party leader Jarosław Kaczyński and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The big question is what that rupture means for the political trajectory of a country that has one of the largest militaries in NATO and has been a key strategic ally to Kyiv since the Russian invasion.