Let’s set aside the election rhetoric for a moment and observe the political landscape with a clear head. There is a clear presence of conservative and Christian voices among the Polish Sejm’s members, a reality that invites reflection and discussion, according to Przemysław Czarnik, head of the Ministry of National Education and Science, during an interview with Polsat News on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the National Electoral Commission released the official parliamentary results. PiS secured 194 seats in the Sejm, KO gained 157, Third Way 65, New Left 26, and Confederacy 18.
Opposition demands and shifting possibilities
When asked about the logic of handing government formation to the PiS candidate given the party does not hold a majority in the Sejm, Czarnik noted on Polsat News that forming an opposition government would be considerably more challenging. He suggested that a government incorporating both groups advocating animal rights restrictions and supporters of meat bans, alongside PSL members who identify with conservative and Christian values, would complicate matters.
Czarnik argued that PiS appears more likely to form a government than the opposition.
There are seven weeks left and many conversations ahead of them. The minister expressed confidence that a number of interesting situations would unfold.
He commented that the political scene demands a cool appraisal rather than campaign rhetoric, highlighting the apparent predominance of conservative and Christian parliamentarians in the Sejm. This observation invites thoughtful discussion, Czarnik remarked.
When asked about his attitude toward PSL, he recalled conversations from his time as voivode of Lublin in which he suggested that, had Law and Justice not existed and he were not a PiS member, he might have considered joining the PSL – a peasant party with conservative, Christian roots that has faced past missteps, he explained.
Miłosz Motyka of PSL responded to a similar remark on X, emphasizing that hatred has no place in PSL. Words alone cannot shield someone from accountability. He clarified that he has no intention of joining PSL, though he had long discussed the party’s nature in earlier years.
Czarnek stressed that his statements were not a courting effort but a sober assessment of the post-election situation. His view is that a government built from ten or eleven different groups, including those strongly opposed to farmers, would face significant challenges and risk fracture over multiple issues, not only related to fur-bearing animals.
He added that the aim is not to forge a Senate pact merely to oppose PiS for four years, nor to participate in an election campaign that has its own rules. Rather, the focus is on assuming responsibility for state decisions when required.
The minister also warned that an independent PiS government would be unlikely. He conceded that they had some chances, but those chances were limited. He pointed to a 35.38 percent result with a turnout of 74.38 percent as a favorable evaluation of the government, noting that the party received more votes than the PO by over a million and far more than other parties.
Asked whether power transfer would occur and whether MP Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk would take the helm of the Education and Science Ministry, Czarnik argued that the left’s influence in education should be viewed cautiously. He suggested that many Civic Platform and PSL members would prefer not to see a left-led education ministry, as the left is not the force it once was. He warned that a left-led Ministry of Education could lead to ideologization of schools.
The ministry, he noted, is currently governed by directors appointed by governing bodies. If circumstances change, he said, courteous behavior remains important; even flowers can be strikingly beautiful, he quipped.
Source note: [Source: wPolityce]