Former Minister of Agriculture Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski plans to depart from the Law and Justice Party (PiS) and, alongside politicians from Kukiz’15, aims to establish a new political party. PiS representatives, when asked about the former minister, remain tight-lipped.
In late June, Ardanowski announced his endeavor to create a new political force, involving deputies associated with Paweł Kukiz and the Kukiz’15 leader himself. Ardanowski, who served as the minister of agriculture and rural development from 2018 to 2020 under then Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, was highly regarded by farmers.
In September 2020, he was suspended by PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński for breaking party discipline by voting against the animal protection law amendment, known as the “five for animals,” which was vehemently opposed by farmers. This act led to his dismissal as minister in October 2020.
Unofficially, PiS politicians admit that despite Ardanowski’s recent harsh criticism, they will not expel him from the party.
“Ardanowski wants to make himself a martyr. We will not help him in that,” one source said.
Ardanowski himself, when questioned about these statements and his plans to leave Kaczyński’s party, said: “It’s probably obvious that my path with PiS is diverging. I’ve been threatened with expulsion for a long time, and I’ve been suspended in this party. If I don’t fit, let them decide to remove me. I won’t cry about it, to be clear.”
The politician emphasized that he had hoped for “some repentance from PiS, some healing process,” and a change of leadership.
“Chairman Kaczyński needs to understand that he is a burden for the party, not an added value. He could be an honorary chairman, who as long as he lives and his head works, could influence the functioning of this party, but he rather wants to cement the party and rely on the current government to fall over and one day, not so soon, he will return to power. My paths with PiS have already parted,” he added.
The new party, initially a parliamentary group, will most likely include deputies from Kukiz’15, such as Paweł Kukiz, Jarosław Sachajko and Marek Jakubiak. The decision on the new group is expected to be announced “in the coming days,” according to one of the Kukiz’15 politicians.
Ardanowski, when asked how many deputies would form the circle with him, replied that the number is not important to him.
“If a party is created from the top, then the number of deputies is important. I will cooperate with politicians, including after a word with the circle of Paweł Kukiz, which is to change its name and expand,” he said.
According to political scientist Prof. Rafał Chwedoruk, the creation of a new political force on the right “socially makes some sense.”
“In this niche, the Confederation appears, but with its libertarian economic message, it does not convince everyone,” he explained.
Prof. Chwedoruk noted that the political force being created by Ardanowski might signify attempts at possible contact with the Confederation party.
Chwedoruk said that for Confederation, it is hard to imagine that it could ever partner with PiS,
but this new party could potentially partner with the right-wing party.
“However, an uncontroversial politician linked to agriculture and rural areas, where the Confederation is just emerging, would make sense in the social dimension and the configuration of forces within the right-wing party system,” he assessed.
