Jarosław Kaczyński was considered the de facto leader of Poland during the Law and Justice (PiS) governments in 2005–2007 and again in 2015–2023 and has been the indisputable party leader since 2003. However, after the last October general elections and Donald Tusk’s formation of a new liberal government in December 2023, the party entered into internal disputes concerning the election results. Thus, Kaczyński faces critics and even calls for resignation to pave the ground for a renovation of the party.
A Sunday SW Research poll for “Rzeczpospolita” newspaper indicates that 53.9% of Poles believe that Jarosław Kaczyński should stop serving as PiS chairman after 2025, when his term as party chairman ends, while 16.5% support his continued presence (20.4% are indifferent, and 9.2% have no opinion on the matter).
“There are more women (62.3%) than men (44.3%) who oppose Jarosław Kaczyński. The idea of another term for the current PiS leader supports 16.5% of respondents. This percentage is higher among men (19.7%) than women (13.6%). It is worth noting that according to the latest polls, PiS has around 27-28% support. This would mean that a large group of voters of this party is against its leader,” the newspaper notes.
The polls show that most opponents to Jarosław Kaczyński are young people, up to 24 years old (66.2%). In addition, large cities with 200 to 499 thousand inhabitants (22.1%) and villages (18.5%) support the PiS leader. In cities with over 500 thousand inhabitants (Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, Lodz, and Poznan), only 11.6% support his candidacy for another term in PiS leadership.
