In a press conference, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced his intention to establish a deportation service if his party wins the next elections. After leaving Law and Justice (PiS) last July to create his own party, Rozwój Plus (Development Plus), Morawiecki is trying to position it between PiS and the ruling Civic Coalition (KO) led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk. However, far-right and xenophobic rhetoric in Poland is on the rise, and the former PiS prime minister attempts to turn towards populism, using the ideal ground of anti-migration.
On 18 August, while presenting Rozwój Plus’ proposals regarding migration, he informed journalists that he plans to implement a deportation service alongside the launch of individual accounts containing information about migrants. Additionally, he intends to create an alert system that would automatically initiate deportation procedures.
“If you want to stay here, you have to assimilate with the Poles and with Poland. Not multiculturalism. Multikulti, as Angela Merkel used to say. (…) Total, brutal assimilation. There is no multiculturalism,” warned Mateusz Morawiecki.
He stated that workers for the deportation service will wear uniforms and that the service will be clearly marked to enhance security on Polish streets. Similar to the American ICE, it will use individual immigrant accounts to provide information on residency rights, employment, and contributions. Morawiecki also proposed a migrant alert system that would trigger automatic deportation proceedings upon the identification of a legal violation.
Additionally, Rozwój Plus suggests appointing a minister for migration and assimilation, limiting work visas for non-EU citizens to 35,000-50,000 per year, and temporarily suspending Poland’s participation in the Schengen Area.
However, while Morawiecki served as Prime Minister between December 2017 and December 2023, had all the power to establish strict rules against migration. During his period, PiS had practically the power to introduce any new law. Its government committed breaches of the rule of law on several occasions, reducing judicial independence and limiting press freedom, among other authoritarian acts. Of course, the Morawiecki government had a clear anti-migration stance but never attempted to introduce such services.
“Morawiecki announces the establishment of a deportation service. When he was in power, he did nothing. The border with Belarus was leaking like a sieve; Polish visas were being handed out without any checks. They couldn’t even deport those who broke the law. We’ve changed that, and Morawiecki’s ideas are pure populism,” Marcin Kierwiński, Minister of Interior and Administration, posted on X today.
In July, Morawiecki and several PiS lawmakers were forced to leave the party by the increasingly far-right, ultranationalist majority. At the beginning of August, the former prime minister announced that his association will become a political party on 15 October, the anniversary of the 2023 parliamentary elections. Politicians associated with Rozwój Plus have already established a separate parliamentary club.
In fact, Morawiecki prefers to use the anti-migration argument in order to search for voters in the vast, although murky, environment of the far-right, racist and nationalist environment in Poland. Anti-migration rhetoric, reinforced today by the joint deployment of harsh anti-Ukrainian propaganda and disinformation by PiS and the far-right, is an ideal field for searching for votes.
Rozwój Plus can hardly target the liberal and conservative constituency of the government coalition. Thus, it has to fight against PiS, the far-right Confederation and the right-wing extremist Confederation of the Polish Crown (KKP) for the same constituency.
Thus, on Friday, 7 August, at a picnic in Jagodno, Morawiecki made the first friendly move towards Sławomir Mentzen, the leader of the pro-Russian Confederation.
“I believe that Mr Sławomir Mentzen is absolutely part of the patriotic camp,” said Morawiecki. “I can imagine working with him, but I don’t know if he would want to work with me. I’m open to talks with the entire Confederation,” he added.
It will not be the first time Mentzen has been flirted with by PiS politicians. Before the 2025 presidential election, the PiS candidate and today’s President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, intensively flirted with Mentzen and his electorate.
Because the PiS majority consistently espouses anti-EU positions alongside scepticism about aid to Ukraine, Morawiecki was perceived as a moderate conservative politician. However, his proposal for a deportation service together with his comments about the leader of Konfederacja clearly indicates that he has chosen the nationalist camp.
The emergence of Rozwój Plus will certainly bring significant changes in Poland’s politics. Different scenarios suggest it could represent a nightmare for Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of PiS, until the next general elections in November 2027. It will also affect the electoral results of Confederacja and may block another KO coalition government.
Latest opinion polls include Morawiecki’s party in their research. The findings are very interesting in case Rozwój Plus runs the next elections alone. A survey conducted by Politico on 5 August indicates that only 6 parties will reach the 5% threshold and enter parliament. The ruling KO has 32% support, against 20% for PiS. Konfederacja 15%, the extremist KKP 10% and Lewica (The Left) 8%. In this poll, Morawiecki’s party attracts 7% of voters’ support. The impact of the new party is already visible.
