Kaczynski wants premiership, not presidency

Kaczynski narrowly lost the presidential election in July 2010 to Bronislaw Komorowski, the latter winning 53 percent of the vote in the final round, while Kaczynski took 47 percent. “Today, I have no presidential ambitions,” Kaczynski told the Super Express daily, “but I want to be prime minister."

The conservative leader stressed that his decision to stand in 2010 was owing to “very specific circumstances.” In 2010, Jaroslaw Kaczynski's twin brother Lech was approaching the end of his first term as president. In April that year Polish head of state perished along with the entire presidential delegation in the Smolensk air disaster. The election was brought forward by several months. “All studies showed that I was the only Law and Justice candidate who had a chance of winning.” Jaroslaw Kaczynski said of the situation following his brother's death.

Kaczynski claimed that he had never had “personal ambitions” of being president, and was partly following what he believed would have been his brother's wishes.

The current Law and Justice leader has already served as prime minister between 2006-2007, after his party won the general election in 2005. However, Law and Justice is now into its second consecutive term out of office. Since 2007, the centre-right Civic Platform (PO) has been leading a coalition with the Polish Peasants Party (PSL).

In the 9 October 2011 general election, the Civic Platform won 39.2 percent of the vote, and Kaczynski's party took 29.9 percent. Law and Justice still faces the challenge of finding a presidential candidate for 2015.

In the past, former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro was often cited as a possible candidate, but he was ejected from Law and Justice in 2011, and he now leads a separate political club, Solidarity Poland, that is due to be transformed into a full-fledged party. (nh/bee)

Opposition Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski on the campaign trial in Siedlce, 05.10.2011. Photo: PAP/Przemysław Piątkowski