Centre (Polish: Centrum) is a Polish parliamentary circle in the Sejm and Senate. It was created on 18 February 2026 by 15 lower house members and 3 senators who left the Poland 2050 party as a result of power struggle within the party after its leadership election.[5] It is led by Paulina Hennig-Kloska, who served as deputy leader of Poland 2050,[6] and narrowly lost the leadership election to Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.[7]
Centrum was created by former lower house members and senators of the Poland 2050 party, which was elected to the Sejm and Senate in the 2023 Polish parliamentary election (winning 33 seats in the Sejm) as a part of the Third Way coalition, and became part of the ruling 15 October Coalition. The party's leader and Marshal of the Sejm at the time, Szymon Hołownia, ran in the 2025 Polish presidential election, in which he won 4.99% of the popular vote, a result that was considered a failure for the party.[8] Hołownia's popularity in the party also declined after media revealed his secret meeting with Jarosław Kaczyński, the chairman of the right-wing opposition party Law and Justice.[9]
After Hołownia's failure in the presidential election, the Third Way coalition was dissolved in June 2025, and in December 2025, he announced his intention to step down as the leader of Poland 2050. As a result, a leadership election was called, taking place in January 2026. Hołownia's resignation exposed divisions and organisational weaknesses within the party.[10] Initially, a large group of politicians from Poland 2050 ran for the leadership, but ultimately two politicians fought in the run-off: Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, and Paulina Hennig-Kloska, Minister of Climate and Environment.[8] All first-round candidates, such as Joanna Mucha, Michał Kobosko, and Ryszard Petru, endorsed Hennig-Kloska, while Hołownia planned a smooth transition of power to Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.[10]
The leadership election exposed internal divisions and conflicts within the party. The second round of the election was invalidated, and was called again in a few weeks. In the repeated second round, Pełczyńska-Nałęcz narrowly won. Despite assurances of the party's politicians that the end of the leadership election would put an end to internal conflicts, the party grew further divided after Pełczyńska-Nałęcz's election. Attempts to manipulate the electoral process as well as leaks from the party's internal communication channels were exposed and widely circulated in the media.[8] After her election, Pełczyńska-Nałęcz employed her daughter to help manage the party's social media, which was denounced as nepotism.[9] The party had become increasingly divided between two camps — the supporters of Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, and supporters of Hennig-Kloska.[11]
The direct cause of the split in the party became the "muzzle resolution" (Polish: uchwała kagańcowa), which was adopted during the party's National Council meeting shortly after Pełczyńska-Nałęcz's election. The resolution, intended to calm tensions within the party, forbade any changes to the party's leadership and structures, and suspended disciplinary proceedings until the National Convention that scheduled for 21 March.[12] Its implementation was deemed a response to the attempts of Hennig-Kloska's supporters to remove Paweł Śliz, the leader of Poland 2050 parliamentary club, and his deputy Bartosz Romowicz, from their positions.[9] The resolution caused outrage in the party, and Hennig-Kloska denounced it as a sign of "one-person decision-making" by Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.[12]
On 14 February 2026, lower house member Żaneta Cwalina-Śliwowska became the first Poland 2050 member to leave the party, followed shortly thereafter by the MEP Michał Kobosko and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna Radwan-Röhrenschef[pl]. They were also followed by the Deputy Minister of National Defense Paweł Zalewski, and Joanna Mucha, former Deputy Minister of Education and Science.[8] Deserting and wavering Poland 2050 MPs also contemplated joining the Civic Coalition or the Polish People's Party.[14] Ultimately, on 17 February, Hennig-Kloska and her supporters made a decision to leave Poland 2050 and create a rival political formation.[15] The next day, on 18 February, a total of 18 party members, led by Hennig-Kloska, announced that they left Poland 2050 and created Centrum. Hennig-Kloska declared that the parliamentary circle will also become a political party.[16] Centrum presented its own logo - letter 'C' in blue to green gradient.[17]
Hennig-Kloska stated that Centrum will support the ruling 15 October Coalition that Poland 2050 is a part of. The creation of the parliamentary circle was condemned by Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, who stated that its members have failed to accept "the choice of the democratic majority" of the party members. Szymon Hołownia, the former party leader, also condemned Centrum, stating that he feels betrayed by its members and that he regrets resigning as the leader of the party.[18] He argued that the reason for defections was hatred towards Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, and that Centrum members will become "Civic Coalition's electoral list fillers".[19] Shortly after the formation of Centrum was declared, Marshal of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty confirmed that he has received the parliamentary circle's application and that its existence has become a fact.[20]
On 19 February, Centrum was formally registered as a parliamentary club and was listed on the Sejm's website.[21] Centrum declared that it will also become a political associaton and a political party, and its members stated that it would be a "party for entrepreneurs".[22] On 20 February, Aleksandra Leo announced that Centrum is being registered as a political association, and that it will also become a political party, of a liberal and pro-business profile.[23] Centrum also entered talks with New Poland, a centrist party founded in 2025; both sides expressed their willingness to form an electoral coalition, and to form a joint Senate group.[17]
On 23 February, Wojciech Wołoch[pl], the voivode of the Lublin Voivodeship and member of Poland 2050, had left his party. Shortly beforehand, 30 activists from Poland 2050 in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship had left the party and declared their willingness to join Centrum.[24] On 24 February, Centrum prepared documents needed to register a political party that it would submit the next day, on 25 February.[25] The association is to be liberal and business-oriented.[17] It also organized a meeting which was attended by 90 people, two-thirds being former Poland 2050 activists.[25]
Conforming to its name, the group is considered to unite politicians of a centrist-liberal profile,[3] and to form a part of the Polish centrist camp.[4] Members of Centrum have described themselves as "loyalists of Donald Tusk" and as pro-European.[15] Centrum is opposed to the policy of Poland 2050 under Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, who postulates assertiveness and independence from the ruling coalition and social market economy. Instead, members of Centrum proposed policies such as decreasing the health insurance contribution for entrepreneurs (opposed by Poland 2050), and implementing the 0% deposit mortgage (opposed by the New Left and Pełczyńska-Nałęcz). Critizing the assertive course of Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Centrum members stated that "our opponent is Grzegorz Braun, not our coalition partners."[10]Piotr Masłowski stated that Centrum would be a centrist party that would not "use leftist language".[17]
The leader of the parliamentary circle, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, represented the liberal faction of Poland 2050 and was a former member of the neoliberal Nowoczesna party prior to joining Poland 2050. During the 2026 Poland 2050 leadership election, she described herself as a liberal and promised "liberalism with human face" which would be "a combination of social sensitivity and economic common sense, enormous respect for labor, [and] adding a green dimension instead of burying our heads in the sand". She is also a supporter of cooperating with Prime MinisterDonald Tusk.[27] Kobosko, who endorsed Centrum, criticized Pełczyńska-Nałęcz for promoting "strongly socialist program ideas [which were] not consulted with anyone", including the cadastral tax and eliminating a flat-rate tax for sole proprietorships. He also accused the leader of Poland 2050 of postulating a "struggle against the rich and capitalists".[10] According to Gazeta Wyborcza, Centrum members accused Pełczyńska-Nałęcz of "abandoning entrepreneurs and shift towards left-wing slogans."[28]
References
↑Zawada, Marcin; Główka, Dominika (19 February 2026). "Opuścili Polskę 2050 przez frustrację? "Zdradzili wyborców"". Polish Radio (in Polish). Grupa osiemnastu członków Polski 2050 z Paulina Hennig-Kloską na czele, opuściło ugrupowanie, by założyć klub parlamentarny Centrum.[A group of eighteen members of Polska 2050, led by Paulina Hennig-Kloska, left the party to form the Centrum parliamentary club.]
"Rozpad Polski 2050 otwiera nowy rozdział Polskiej polityki centrum"[The collapse of Poland in 2050 opens a new chapter in Polish centrist politics]. Digital Nexus (in Polish). 18 February 2026. Jedna frakcja chce być lojalnym wsparciem dla Donalda Tuska, druga – zachować niezależność i centrowy profil. Efekt? Dwa kluby zamiast jednego i poczucie, że marzenie o „trzeciej drodze" właśnie się skończyło. Nowa formacja Centrum deklaruje, że chce być miejscem kompromisu i pragmatyzmu.[One faction wanted to be a loyal supporter of Donald Tusk, the other – to maintain its independence and centrist profile. The result? Two clubs instead of one, and a feeling that the dream of a ‘third way’ has just ended. The new Centre formation does declare that it wants to be a place of compromise and pragmatism.]
Dobrzyński, Rafał (18 February 2026). "„To rozdziera mi serce". Ostry konflikt w Polsce 2050 wychodzi na światło dzienne". Espresso (in Polish). Najbliższe miesiące pokażą, czy ugrupowanie Hołowni zdoła odbudować jedność, czy też podział okaże się początkiem trwałej reorganizacji sceny centrowej w Polsce przed wyborami parlamentarnymi w 2027 roku.[The coming months will show whether Hołownia's group will manage to rebuild unity or whether the split will prove to be the beginning of a lasting reorganisation of the centrist scene in Poland ahead of the 2027 parliamentary elections.]
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