Former justice minister sets up new party

Jarosław Gowin announces his new party - Poland Together, Warsaw 7 December 2013. Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak

The new alliance sees a number of disgruntled Civic Platform MPs who quit the party earlier this year, as well as a number of conservative politicians once allied with the opposition Law and Justice.

The party was set up during an inaugural convention at the weekend, and is set to be socially conservative while being economically liberal.

Jaroslaw Gowin’s major allies in the party are Pawel Kowal, an MEP who quit the conservative opposition Law and Justice to form Poland Comes First, as well as Przemyslaw Wipler, who also left Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s party to form the Republican Association.

John Godson, who left Civic Platform earlier this year after disagreeing with the party leadership over social and financial issues, also joins the ranks of Poland Together.

“It’s like when you have a new baby, you have that feeling of responsibility, of course pride, but mostly of responsibility,” Godson told thenews.pl. “I believe that this new initiative will bring [...] some reinvigoration into the Polish political system,” he added.

Not so fast

Poland Together polled six percent in a poll conducted by Millward Brown – a result which would give the fledgling party a place in the Sejm lower house of parliament.

“I’m not satisfied with six percent, I’m personally fighting that it will be closer to 20 percent,” John Godson told thenews.pl, maintaining that a lot can still happen between now and 2015, when general elections will be called in Poland.

However, whether or not the party will succeed depends a lot on media exposure, argues Remi Adekoya, a colmunist for The Guardian.

“If [Poland Together] can sustain media interest, then they have a shot,” Adekoya told thenews.pl, saying that if the party fails, “they’ll be history.” (jb)