Alongside EKR co-chair Ryszard Legutko, Beata Mazurek, Elżbieta Kruk, and Grzegorz Tobiszowski will not continue as candidates among current PiS members. The announcements were confirmed by Anna Fotyga and Patryk Jaki, signaling a notable reshaping of the party’s European Parliament slate ahead of elections. Fotyga, a PiS MEP and former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that she is stepping forward to run precisely because these are exceptionally challenging times in security, geopolitics, and foreign policy. Her comments were made to reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Patryk Jaki has also confirmed his candidacy for the Polish Press Agency. While he did not specify the constituency from which he would run, information from PAP indicates he will secure a seat that guarantees a mandate. Beata Kempa is expected to take second place on behalf of Sovereign Poland, though she has not publicly confirmed her involvement in an interview with PAP.
Who is not returning to the European Parliament?
According to PAP, there will be no position for several current Members of the European Parliament on the Law and Justice lists. The excluded names include Beata Mazurek, Elżbieta Kruk, Grzegorz Tobiszowski, and Andżelika Możdżanowska. Ryszard Legutko, who chairs the European Conservatives and Reformists group and previously led the PiS delegation in the European Parliament, will also not stand for re-election. He was replaced by Dominik Tarczyński earlier this year.
Legutko emphasized that the decision was his own, saying in an interview with PAP that no one pressured him into stepping back. Media reports had suggested internal party friction over the direction PiS should take ahead of the European Parliament elections as a contributing factor to his departure.
Relinquishing political life
In addition, PiS member Tomasz Poręba announced his resignation from active politics, including the pursuit of a European Parliament seat. He shared his departure on social media, describing a sense of accomplishment about the work done and the paths left to tread in the years ahead.
The PiS Political Committee is scheduled to approve the electoral lists for the European Parliament next week. In the 2019 elections, Law and Justice secured 27 seats.
READ ALSO: Tomasz Poręba will no longer be a member of the European Parliament. This marks a broader shift in the party’s European posture. “I have one last session ahead of me, I’m leaving on my own terms.”
gah/PAP
Source: wPolityce