We use analytics to improve Pollar and, with your consent, the Meta pixel to measure sign-ups and purchases that come from our ads. You can change this anytime in Settings. Privacy policy

Search⌘K
HomeFor YouLiveBriefAsk
MapMarketsThreadsSoundsFilms
DomesticGeopoliticsEconomySocietyScience & TechInfrastructureSportCultureLifestyle
Support PollarNotifications
PrivacyNewsroom
HomeBriefLiveThreadsSearch
Listen to the article4 min, read by a synthetic voice

In brief

  • During a 26 July TV Republika broadcast, Jacek Kurski called Mateusz Morawiecki a 'pathetic cog' in a German plan and said he was 'on Tusk's orders' breaking up PiS.

  • On 28 July the Political Committee issued an open-ended prohibition on media appearances by Kurski and referred his case to the party Ethics Committee.

  • The same committee meeting confirmed a list of 44 people who failed to properly submit anti-association declarations, sending the matter to the disciplinary spokesman.

  • The former PM replied that 'every party, in order to lose, must have its own Jacek,' and that he was grateful Kurski was becoming the public face of PiS.

Warsaw
Warsaw · Poland
How it came to this
  1. 26 JulJacek Kurski attacks Mateusz Morawiecki on TV Republika, invoking Smolensk and Lech Kaczyński.
  2. 28 JulPiS Political Committee meets, discusses Kurski and membership declarations.
  3. 28 JulRafał Bochenek announces indefinite media ban on Kurski and referral to the Ethics Committee.

The TV clash

On Sunday evening Jacek Kurski, a former head of Telewizja Polska and now a PiS MP, used a live appearance on TV Republika to launch a personal assault on Mateusz Morawiecki. He claimed the former prime minister was "a pathetic cog" in a German plan to subjugate Europe and had stayed silent while, in the aftermath of the 2010 Smolensk air disaster, women were burned with cigarettes at the presidential cross. Kurski accused Morawiecki of being "always a man of the establishment" who only joined PiS when it was ready-made and was now trying to destroy the party "on Tusk's orders" because he faces legal problems.

“Morawiecki is a pathetic cog here to do it. He has always been a man of the establishment, always from the other side. Today Morawiecki has legal troubles and charges, and that is why, on Tusk's orders, he is trying to break up Law and Justice.”

Jacek Kurski, piS MP and former president of Telewizja Polska

The remarks provoked an immediate retort from MP Robert Gontarz, who belongs to Morawiecki's "Rozwój Plus" association. Gontarz called the language "boorish and disgusting" and reminded Kurski that he himself once mocked the "Smolensk sect" after the crash.

Party reaction

By Tuesday evening the party leadership had acted. After a session of the Political Committee, PiS spokesman Rafał Bochenek announced on X that the case of Jacek Kurski "has been referred to the party Ethics Committee" and that Kurski "has received a ban on media appearances." One committee member told the Polish Press Agency that the ban is indefinite and that every future statement by Kurski would be taken into account when assessing the gravity of his misconduct.

“The matter of Mr Jacek Kurski connected with his television appearance has been referred to the party Ethics Committee; Mr Jacek Kurski has received a ban on media appearances.”

Rafał Bochenek, piS spokesman

Vice-president Mariusz Błaszczak had already signalled the ban earlier on Tuesday, confirming that the party leadership was acting decisively.

Morawiecki counters

Asked about the row in Polsat News, Morawiecki dismissed the attack with a shrug. "We can say it again: we will certainly not lose any more of Mr Kurski," he said, suggesting voters do not reward such rhetoric. Morawiecki added that he was "absolutely very grateful that Mr Jacek Kurski has become the face of PiS, because I see the reactions on the internet and I understand that every party, in order to lose, must have its own Jacek. Civic Platform had Jacek Murański. If PiS is now raising such a Jacek on its banners, then you can only applaud."

He also noted that during the United Right government he had repeatedly signalled his displeasure with the propaganda pumped out by TVP under Kurski's presidency.

A wider discipline push

The same committee session tackled a broader internal dispute. Bochenek confirmed that 44 party members had either failed to submit or had submitted on the wrong forms the required declarations that they do not belong to any political associations. The list is now with the party disciplinary spokesman, a step aimed mainly at the circle gathered around Morawiecki's "Rozwój Plus." The twin decisions show the leadership moving to suppress public feuding before it damages the party's image.

Next in today’s edition

Bend school shooting leaves three children and a teacher dead

A 16-year-old opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, 15 October, and a bystander shot the attacker inside the school, according to police and the bystander's family.

  • Government · 11 h agoZacharia reportedly out as White House press secretary
  • Diplomacy · 9 h agoPope Leo XIV asks Putin for Oleshky humanitarian truce
  • Business · 13 h agoTesla shows flying Roadster, production targeted for 2028

Sources and context

  • rmf24.plon 28 Jul at 21:09Kurski ma milczeć. Kulisy burzliwego spotkania na szczycie w PiS
  • NIEZALEZNA.PLon 28 Jul at 20:52Kurski z zakazem wystąpień medialnych
  • FAKT24.plon 28 Jul at 20:15PiS reaguje na awanturę w TV Republika. Kurski dostał zakaz
  • polsatnews.plon 28 Jul at 20:11Jacek Kurski z zakazem wystąpień w mediach. Decyzja władz PiS
Jacek Kurski
PiS MP and former president of Telewizja Polska who attacked Mateusz Morawiecki on TV Republika.
Mateusz Morawiecki
Former Polish prime minister and PiS vice-president, target of Kurski's criticism.
Rafał Bochenek
PiS spokesman who announced the media ban and referral to the Ethics Committee.
Mariusz Błaszczak
PiS vice-president who confirmed the media ban on Kurski.

Pollar is free and carries no ads in the text. Its members keep it going.

Support Pollar

Published on 28 Jul at 21:26.

Report an error in the text

Text generated by AI from the reports of the publishers listed and checked automatically, with no human editor. How Pollar is made

In this text

The TV clashThe TV clashParty reactionParty reactionMorawiecki countersMorawiecki countersA wider discipline pushA wider discipline push

Based on reports by

rmf24.pl, NIEZALEZNA.PL, FAKT24.pl, polsatnews.pl, Rzeczpospolita, Wprost

List of sources

Government · Warsaw

PiS silences Jacek Kurski with indefinite media ban after his attack on Mateusz Morawiecki

Poland's Law and Justice party imposed an open-ended prohibition on public statements by its MP Jacek Kurski, a day after he accused former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki of acting on Donald Tusk's orders to break the party.

Warsaw

Ask about this text

AI text based on reports by rmf24.pl, NIEZALEZNA.PL, FAKT24.pl and other publishers. Published on 28 Jul at 21:26.

Ask your own question
How it is made