Polish right-wing realignment sees Confederation overtaking PiS in European Parliament group
After failed EU-reform talks in 2021, Poland’s Law and Justice party lost its dominant position, while Confederation joined a new MEP bloc with France’s National Rally and Spain’s Vox.
Law and Justice organized a December 2021 gathering in Warsaw, inviting leaders such as Viktor Orbán, Santiago Abascal of Vox and Marine Le Pen of the National Rally to explore a joint push for EU reforms; a follow-up meeting took place in Madrid in January. The effort collapsed before any concrete action, and the February Russian attack on Ukraine prompted PiS to prioritize an unequivocal pro-Ukraine line, a position that Orbán and Le Pen could not fully endorse.
Consequently, PiS’s political weight in Poland has diminished sharply, with its rallies drawing only modest attention. Meanwhile, the right-wing Confederation, which was excluded from the original talks, has aligned with the National Rally and Vox in the “Patrioti dla Europy” parliamentary group. This new alliance now holds 84 seats, surpassing the European Conservatives and Reformists bloc that includes PiS’s 78 members, counting the Rozwój Plus deputies.
Why it matters
The shift reshapes the balance of power among European right-wing parties and reduces PiS’s influence in EU decision-making.
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