Law and Justice Suspends Senator Jacek Włosowicz Over Ideological Conflict

The Law and Justice parliamentary club suspended Senator Jacek Włosowicz from membership on March 18, 2026, and simultaneously launched a procedure to permanently remove him from the club. Party spokesperson Rafał Bochenek announced the decision on Wednesday evening, citing Włosowicz's recent public statements as the direct cause. The senator had given an interview to TVN24 in which he accused the party of drifting toward nationalism and expressed support for the SAFE program, a position at odds with the official PiS line. The suspension marks a sharp and public break between Włosowicz and the party club he had remained affiliated with despite not holding formal PiS membership since 2011.

Bochenek: senator "mentally on Tusk's side" Bochenek made his position explicit in a social media post, stating that Włosowicz's remarks clearly showed he had long been aligned with the political camp of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. „Jego wypowiedzi wyraźnie pokazują, że od dawna mentalnie znajduje się po stronie Tuska” (His statements clearly show that for a long time he has mentally been on Tusk's side) — Rafał Bochenek via TVN24 Bochenek also accused the senator of passivity on issues the party considers central to its platform, including rising prices, unemployment, and European Union regulations such as the ETS2 directive and the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. The spokesperson framed Włosowicz's conduct as a sustained pattern of disloyalty rather than an isolated incident. The announcement of the removal procedure, rather than a simple suspension, signals that the club leadership intends to make the break permanent.

Senator had not been a formal party member since 2011 Włosowicz's relationship with PiS had long been unusual by Polish parliamentary standards. According to the verification findings, he ceased to be a formal member of the PiS party in 2011, yet continued to sit within its parliamentary club for the years that followed. This arrangement — common in Polish politics, where senators and deputies may affiliate with a club without holding party cards — allowed him to maintain a political home while operating with some degree of independence. His decision to speak publicly against the party's direction, and specifically to endorse the SAFE program that PiS opposes, appears to have exhausted whatever tolerance the club leadership had extended to him. The TVN24 interview served as the immediate trigger for the disciplinary response.

Suspension deepens internal tensions within opposition PiS Law and Justice was founded on May 29, 2001, by brothers Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński, and was formally registered on June 13, 2001. The party governed Poland from 2015 to 2023 before losing power following parliamentary elections. Włosowicz has served as a senator across multiple terms, including the sixth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh terms of the Senate, and also served as a member of the European Parliament during its seventh term. The suspension of Włosowicz adds to a broader picture of internal friction within PiS as the party navigates its role in opposition. His criticism of a "nationalist course" within the party touches on a sensitive debate about the direction PiS should take following its 2023 electoral defeat. The club's swift response — announced the same evening as the TVN24 interview aired — reflects leadership's determination to enforce message discipline among its affiliated senators. Whether the formal removal procedure will conclude in a full expulsion from the club remains to be confirmed, as such procedures typically involve additional steps under club rules. Włosowicz's future parliamentary affiliation, should the removal be completed, has not been confirmed by available sources.