Polish parliament rejects no-confidence motion against interior minister Kierwiński by 232–202 vote

The vote

The Sejm rejected the motion of no confidence against Minister of Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwiński during its 59th sitting on 10 June. A total of 435 deputies took part in the ballot. The motion was defeated by 232 votes against to 202 in favour, with one abstention. The statutory majority required to pass the motion was 231 votes.

This motion is one great indictment of the PiS governments, because for these three years, together with Minister Siemoniak — since he was also head of the MSWiA — we have been cleaning up the swamp we found in this department and its subordinate services.

The vote split along coalition lines. All voting deputies from Law and Justice (PiS) and Confederation supported the motion, along with members of the Demokracja and Razem circles, Konfederacja Korony Polskiej, and four independent deputies. The governing coalition — Civic Coalition (150), PSL-TD (30), the Left (21), Poland 2050 (13), Centrum (15), and three independents — voted against.

Opposition accusations

PiS deputies argued that Kierwiński bears political responsibility for weakening the state's internal security apparatus. During the debate, PiS MP Andrzej Śliwka called the minister a "man of chaos," citing chaos in management, in the services, and in the spending of public money.

Minister Kierwiński is a man of chaos: chaos in management, chaos in the services and, most outrageously, chaos in the spending of public money.

The opposition's motion listed several specific grievances: inadequate response to acts of railway sabotage, after which suspects allegedly left Polish territory; failure to secure the western border, allowing Germany to "push back illegal migrants"; the minister's involvement in the transcription of same-sex marriages; and catastrophic actions by the services, including entry into the apartment of President Karol Nawrocki's mother triggered by false alarms. PiS also pointed to staffing problems and a large number of vacancies in the police force.

The government's defence

Deputy Prime Minister Radosław Sikorski defended Kierwiński before the vote, calling him a very good and effective minister. Sikorski linked the motion to a series of false alarms affecting public figures, including editor Tomasz Sakiewicz.

It turned out that these were happenings fabricated by provocateurs, alleged criminals. The services supervised by Minister Kierwiński apprehended them and brought them before the prosecutor.

Sikorski argued that the opposition should apologise to the government and to Kierwiński for its insinuations. Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz also spoke in the minister's defence.

Kierwiński himself told the chamber that PiS's eight years in charge of the ministry had been "one great threat to state security." He noted that this was already the second PiS motion for his dismissal this term, the first having been submitted in spring 2024.

That is the best review of the fact that I am doing my job well. I do not know of a situation where those who are being pursued by the police have a good opinion of the police.

Committee stage

Before the plenary vote, the Sejm's Administration and Internal Affairs Committee debated the motion for over three hours and issued a negative opinion. The committee voted 19 to 13 to recommend rejection, with no abstentions.

Broader context

The ministry has pointed to concrete steps taken after the railway sabotage incidents, including a new Polish-Ukrainian agreement on cooperation in combating crime, sabotage, and subversion, and the launch of operations "Horyzont" and "TOR" aimed at protecting critical infrastructure. Coalition MPs also reminded the chamber that it was under the previous PiS government that the police were used against participants in the Women's Strike and peaceful demonstrations, and that a former PiS-appointed police chief had damaged the force's headquarters with a grenade launcher.