Orbán’s tactics failed again, PiS is angry

Kaczynski’s secret political weapon backfired. Turns out they employed Hungarian advisers for the failed campaign. At least that’s what a Polish newspaper said.

Seems like the Law and Justice (PiS) government that has been getting the most votes for the last 8 years will need even more to carry on now. Both the Sejm and the Upper House have opposition majorities. The Polish media is practically stating the change of government as a fact.

Naturally, Jaroslaw Kaczynskis’ party can still try stalling for time. To an equal degree, Andrzej Duda, president of the republic, can cause an inconvenience by entrusting the continuation to the forming of a minority government. It’s another can of worms that the next prime minister of Poland will most likely be Donald Tusk. He will govern the country as the head of a three-party coalition.

“The PiS has had better days: the party is trying to place the responsibility of this colossal failure. Names are being mentioned, including some who are advisers to the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.”

comments the Polish newspaper Polytika.

After the resignation of Tomasz Poreba, the ruling party’s election guru, the campaign landed in the hands of Joachim Brudzinski. He is a representative of the EP and has quite conservative views. It is said that this change of staff opened the door for the party advisers of Viktor Orbán. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, president of PiS, believed that the increased staff and Hungarian ideas will lead to victory.

The newspaper doesn’t say from whom exactly the party got their information, but the PiS argument was that they can use the Hungarian model with a little bit of translating and integrating. According to Polytika, representatives of Fidesz were never personally present. However, they held sway in the development of the campaign.

“They did whatever they wanted. Morawiecki’s people reasoned that they would help us win third mandate, and to do so, we would just have to adapt what worked for them,” a source told the paper. However, the Hungarians had not taken into account the specificities of the Polish electoral system and the public mood.

That’s how the Polish ruling party’s campaign focus points included a referendum against the compulsory resettlement of migrants. This referendum was, coincidentally, held on the same day as the elections. You can read more about it HERE.

This idea might ring a bell to our Hungarian readers, since in 2022, there was also a referendum on election day, only the topic was ‘child protection’.

The Hungarians also persuaded the PiS campaign advisers to give Donald Tusk a run for his money. According to the PiS allied politicians, this also backfired. They state that it only motivated those rooting for the opposition to mobilise.

The disillusioned PiS campaign advisers put the blame on Jaroslaw Kaczynski as well. “He agreed to the expanding of the staff and honestly believed that Orbáns’ advisers would bring him success. It’s a pity he wasn’t surrounded by people who would’ve told him this couldn’t work in our country.”