Kaczyński Re-elected as PiS Leader, but Party Risks Irrelevance

Kaczyński promised in the speech to 2027 fight the same sort of campaign that had brought PiS to power in 2015, with polarising rhetoric, changes to the constitution and mass activist ground game. But PiS now confronts a mounting threat from the far-right Confederation party, growing youth disillusionment and a political centre that has adopted much of PiS's historical economic rhetoric, reflecting deepening shifts in the political system in Poland.

Same Strategy, New Terrain
The party congress in Przysucha cemented PiS's institutional unity, but it also underscored how strategically moribund the party had become. Kaczyński failed to present a new vision but instead reiterated assailants against gender ideology, higher education and Western social norms. He demanded constitutional adjustments to shore up the sovereignty of Poland, carrying through on his longtime commitment to a "new state order."

But the social divide that once worked in favour of PiS is crumbling. Many younger voters don't feel that either PiS or the centrist Civic Coalition speak to their values. "These parts include the 'left behind' and the 'anti-system,'" wrote Slawomir Sierakowski, the director of the Krytyka Polityczna think tank and a contributor to The Times, in a recent column for the country's Polityka weekly magazine. "The left behind are the simple people who have been left behind; they used to be part of society but are no more, since with enough money you can leave them behind.

Kaczyński did not do much to bridge this generational chasm. Instead, he suggested doubling the party's size to 100,000 members, with the aim of reviving its traditional door-knocking campaign machine.

Internal Stability, External Fragmentation
Four new deputy leaders were announced — three of them below 50 — but it was viewed as a gesture toward generational change rather than substantive reform. KaczyÅ„ski still has an iron grip, and no successor was mentioned.

Meantime, the splintering of the right goes on. Confederation — which polled at around 17% — and a splinter group led by MP Grzegorz Braun now both cross the 5% threshold. KaczyÅ„ski had ruled out running in coalition and called for an emphatic solo win in 2027 with at least 40% of the vote.

But PiS's vision of social transfers and state-led conservatism may be falling out of favour with a generation that prefers low taxes, deregulation and a minimal state — things that never get discussed in Congress.

Marching Toward 2027—But Toward What?
Kaczyński reiterated the formula that had worked for PiS for nearly a decade. But as much as the party remains the bulwark, on paper, it battles a political landscape it no longer fully recognizes. Without adjusting to the pressures of younger conservatives and the norms of modern campaigning, PiS could end up with a party that wins the battle but loses the longer war for influence.