7 March 2026 in Krakow, during the Convention of Law and Justice under the motto "Time of Poland. Programme of Poles", Jarosław Kaczyński announced the decision, which the whole Polish political scene was waiting for. The PiS candidate for Prime Minister in the 2027 parliamentary election was Przemysław Czarnek.
Former Minister of Education and Science, Vice President of the party and one of the most expressive and recognizable politicians of the right-wing camp in recent years – he is to lead the Law and Justice to victory and become head of the future government. President Kaczyński's decision ends many weeks of speculation and closes the stage of uncertainty about the direction in which the party wants to follow.
Radical right turn and clear message
The choice of Przemysław Czarnka is interpreted almost unanimously as a clear signal of radicalisation of the PiS transmission. Politologists and commentators agree that the party is focusing on confrontational style, fierce world-view rhetoric and an attempt to get voters drifting towards the Confederate – both the more libertarian one and the national-Catholic one.
In his first speech after the announcement of the candidacy, Czarnek left no doubt about the tone of the coming months and years. He spoke of a "normal, real Poland", about the need to defend national sovereignty and about the dangers arising from the "outright German option", which would allegedly control Donald Tusk's current government. These words, as well as the famous phrase "empty head" addressed to the current Prime Minister, have sparked immediate, extremely polarized reactions in the media and on social platforms.
Who is Przemysław Czarnek?
48-year-old politician from Lublin passed the way to the PiS from the Lublin Voivodeship (2015–2019), by the head of the Ministry of Education and Science in the second government of Mateusz Morawiecki (2020–2023), to one of the key faces of the party in the current term. He is known for his very conservative views on worldview issues, strong criticism of " LGBT idealology" and promotion of patriotic education and based on traditional values.
His nomination inspires enthusiasm among the most tough electorate of the PiS and the media-related environments of Father Rydzyk. At the same time, it creates deep anxiety among moderate party sympathizers and centre-right commentators who fear that such a choice can definitely close the way to a wider centre electorate.
Internal peace at risk?
Many analysts believe that Kaczyński's decision aimed primarily at calming internal tensions in the party. After a series of election failures (presidential and parliamentary) and after the departure or marginalization of several important figures, the choice of Czarnek gives the "mashers" (the most ideological wing of the Law and Justice) a clear advantage and the sense that their voice was heard.
The question is, is this consolidation of a hard electorate enough to win the election in 2027. The polls at the beginning of 2026 show the Law and Justice clearly behind the Civic Coalition, and the radicalization of the message can at the same time deter moderate voters and strengthen the Confederation as a competition on the right.
What's next?
Przemysław Czarnek announces that he will be a "driver of a great train" to move up. His campaign will most likely be based on the slogans of sovereignty, the defence of a traditional family, the fight against "left ideology" and the reconstruction of a strong national state. Will this strategy work – it will show the next year and a half.
One thing is certain: Polish policy has just entered a new, very intense and very polarized stage. Przemysław Czarek as a candidate for Prime Minister leaves no room for half-measures – neither for the PiS side nor for his opponents side.
