WARSAW, Poland — Thousands of people attended an anti-government rally organized by Poland’s nationalist conservative opposition party to drum up support for next year’s presidential election.
The leader of Law and Justice, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, called on supporters to be active on a social and political level and to support the party’s candidate in next year’s presidential election. He has not yet named the candidate.
Kaczynski also accused the pro-EU government of acting against the nation’s interests and violating its laws, citing recently opened investigations into allegations of mismanagement and corruption of the Law and Justice government.
Up to 4,000 people carrying national white and red flags gathered for the demonstration held in windy weather outside the Justice Ministry in Warsaw, which has become a symbol of years of deep divisions between Kaczynski’s supporters and Donald Tusk, who is now prime minister. and leader of the center-right Civic Platform party.
Law and Justice, which ruled Poland for nearly a decade from 2015 to 2023, drew criticism from both Brussels and Tusk for making changes to Poland’s legal system that were deemed undemocratic.
Many in the nation of 38 million people were also fed up with the aggressive and divisive language Kaczynski, who dictated government policy from the sidelines, used to galvanize support.
The party lost power in the 2023 election, but still exercises control through President Andrzej Duda, who is allied with Law and Justice. Duda, whose second and final term ends in August, has blocked many of the government’s bills.