Morawiecki to be elected ECR party president

BRUSSELS ― Former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is expected to be elected president of the European Conservatives and Reformists party on Wednesday afternoon during a leadership meeting, according to two members of the party’s board of directors.

He takes the baton from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who threw her weight behind Morawiecki when she confirmed she would step down as party leader in mid-December.

“The principles of the ECR party will remain strong under the new leadership, keeping conservative values at the forefront,” said Roberts Zīle, a European Parliament vice president and member of the party’s board of directors ― in charge of electing the new president.

Meloni and Morawiecki have completely opposing approaches to the European Union.

As prime minister, Meloni has played ball with EU institutions and cozied up to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, having managed to bring the ECR into the mainstream alongside the Christian Democrats, Socialists and liberals. On the other hand, Morawiecki’s tenure as Polish prime minister was characterized by hostility toward Brussels.

Despite the differences, his appointment as leader is unlikely to change much.

As party president he will be in charge of fostering policy coordination among ECR heads of government and the national parties of EU countries.

The party, which brings together current and former governing heavyweights such as the Brothers of Italy, Poland’s Law and Justice, and Czechia’s Civic Democratic Party (ODS), prioritizes respecting national interests and divergent positions among its members rather than a strict group line.

That means Morawiecki will not get much space to whip his party members. At the same time, the leadership of the ECR group, a faction of lawmakers that shapes EU policy in the Parliament, remains untouched.

‘Diversity and flexibility’

“I trust that [Morawiecki] will be able to uphold the essence of [the] ECR: common values … but not necessarily common positions,” Fernand Kartheiser, a Luxembourgish member of the European Parliament and member of the party’s board of directors, told POLITICO.

“This gives ECR its diversity and flexibility,” he added.

The party is divided into two branches: one right-wing section, which is composed of national parties considered by centrist forces as moderate and acceptable partners for negotiation, such as Brothers of Italy and ODS; and a section led by Law and Justice that is considered far right and is systematically excluded from negotiations and leadership positions.

Morawiecki’s election is rather symbolic, as it coincides with the start of Poland’s Council presidency, which will put Law and Justice’s nemesis, current center-right Prime Minister Donald Tusk, at the center of European politics.

With this move, the ECR is seeking to boost Law and Justice in Brussels and give it a platform to fight Tusk’s Civic Coalition ahead of a presidential election in May.

“[It] is an occasion to show even more interest in political developments in Poland itself,” Kartheiser said.