Jarosław Kaczyński has been a member of the Polish parliament since 1991, the chairman of the Law and Justice party (PiS / Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) since 2003, and served as Prime Minister of Poland from July 14, 2006, to November 16, 2007. What more could someone want from politics after such a career? Or perhaps it’s about something entirely different?
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Why all the drama?
With all the fuss surrounding the Kaczyński twins, one has to admit that both have had, at least on paper, impressive political careers. When Jarosław Kaczyński became Prime Minister, he received his letter of appointment from none other than his brother — President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński. It was a rare moment in history: two brothers holding the highest offices in a state. And twin brothers, no less.
At 68 years old, with 26 years in parliament behind him, you might think Jarosław Kaczyński has achieved everything and would now step back, or at least pass the reins to a younger generation. But instead, he wants more. In his monthly Smolensk speeches outside the Presidential Palace, he continues to speak of building a “new” Poland — the so-called Fourth Republic — and of a relentless struggle against those who oppose this vision.
Józef Piłsudski, Lech Wałęsa… and now Jarosław Kaczyński?
Poland has long had a strong tradition of personality cults. One consequence is that its rich historical memory often suffers from a narrow interpretation of the past. Historical events are frequently analyzed only through the lens of certain heroic individuals or groups — the “good guys.” The others, naturally, must be the “bad guys.” Emotion tends to dominate reason, and genuine debate becomes nearly impossible.
Jarosław Kaczyński clearly wants to join the ranks of those national heroes. But how high does he aim? And who could serve as his benchmark?
Józef Piłsudski — The Polish Legions and the Second Republic
Born in 1867 in Zułowo (today Zalavas in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire), Józef Piłsudski is regarded as one of the most important figures in over a thousand years of Polish history.
At age 20, he was exiled to Siberia for allegedly plotting an assassination attempt on the Russian Tsar. He returned five years later. During a brawl, he lost his two front teeth — to cover the gap, he grew a signature thick mustache, which he kept for the rest of his life.
Through clever political maneuvering and his legendary leadership of the Polish Legions during World War I, Piłsudski rose to national prominence. On November 10, 1918, after being released from prison in Magdeburg, he arrived at Warsaw’s train station to be greeted by an enormous crowd. The very next day, Poland regained its independence after 123 years of foreign domination — and Piłsudski became the central figure in this historic rebirth, ushering in the Second Republic.
But the fight wasn’t over. The Bolsheviks wanted to spread their revolution across Europe, and Poland stood in their way. Confident in victory, the Red Army pushed westward, convinced that once they crossed the Vistula, no one could stop them. What followed became known as the “Miracle on the Vistula” — the Battle of Warsaw. Polish forces decisively defeated the Soviets and even advanced deep into the East. Interestingly, the term “miracle” was originally used mockingly by Piłsudski’s political enemies, who claimed that only a miracle could save him. Ironically, the “miracle” became a source of pride.
Józef Piłsudski gave Poland its long-awaited independence and became the man who defeated the “red horde” from the East. His burial on Wawel Hill in Kraków — alongside Polish kings and national icons — came as no surprise. It was only fitting.
Lech Wałęsa — Solidarity and the Third Republic
Lech Wałęsa, born in 1943 in Popowo, is best known worldwide as the leader of Solidarity and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Today, he travels the globe sharing his life story and the courageous fight of the Polish people against Soviet domination. The fact that the system collapsed without bloodshed is often described as nothing short of a miracle.
Just as Piłsudski is associated with Poland’s rebirth in 1918, Wałęsa is seen as the symbol of the Third Republic — a free Poland that emerged after 45 years of Soviet-imposed communism. A symbolic moment came on December 22, 1990, when Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last president of Poland’s government-in-exile, handed over the presidential insignia to Wałęsa, the newly elected leader of a democratic Poland.
Whatever is said about Wałęsa in Poland today, no one can take away the fact that he personified Solidarity. There are, of course, ongoing debates about his alleged collaboration with the communist secret police — but history is unlikely to rewrite his legacy as the movement’s figurehead.
Jarosław Kaczyński — Smolensk and the Fourth Republic?
So, how does Jarosław Kaczyński fit into this trio? Isn’t it exactly what he wants — to be seen as the third great hero in modern Polish history? With, of course, some “adjustments” to the story.
Born in 1949 in Warsaw, Kaczyński is deeply rooted in the capital — his family, too. His brother, Lech Kaczyński, was Warsaw’s mayor from 2002 to 2005, and is closely associated with the Warsaw Rising Museum, which was largely his creation. The museum is excellent and remains one of the city’s top tourist destinations. After his death in the Smolensk plane crash, Lech was buried on Wawel Hill — like Piłsudski — though the decision was controversial.
Their father, Rajmund Kaczyński, fought in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising as a soldier of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa).
During the Solidarity era, Jarosław always stood in the shadow of Wałęsa, which left him little room to build his own legacy there. Attempts by some political circles to brand Wałęsa as a Soviet agent may continue, but they are unlikely to succeed. Since 1990, collective memory has grown weaker — a trait that is ironically making Poles more like the rest of Europe.
Still, Jarosław Kaczyński wants to write himself into the heroic chapters of Polish history — full of martyrs and freedom fighters who either won liberty or died trying. If he fails, he may remain just another name in a forgotten footnote — overlooked, unread, unremembered.
The opportunity comes with his vision of the “Fourth Republic” — a slogan his party has consistently promoted since 2005. It envisions a radical transformation of Poland’s political system. According to this view, the legal foundations and structures of the Third Republic are deeply flawed and must be overturned.
If the Fourth Republic were to emerge, Kaczyński would stand at its helm — just as Piłsudski led the Second and Wałęsa the Third. Another cult of personality could arise. The entire Kaczyński family would then be cast as defenders of Poland’s freedom against the barbarian East: the father in the Warsaw Uprising, the brother martyred in Smolensk, and Jarosław as the founder of a new independent republic — the first truly free Poland since 1939. And since the Fourth Republic would overwrite Wałęsa’s Third, Wałęsa’s legacy might be erased in the process.
In this narrative, Smolensk becomes part of the broader conflict with Russia. Lech Kaczyński’s support for Georgia during his surprise visit in 2008, the war in Ukraine, and the 2010 crash — or “assassination,” as PiS claims — form a dramatic arc of resistance against Russian expansionism.
Poland, in PiS’s worldview, is in grave danger. It must learn to defend itself, for the world likely won’t come to its rescue again. The Third Republic, they argue, was never truly sovereign. The Fourth, then, would finally guarantee Poland’s full independence from Moscow.
And that would complete the portrait: a visionary leader, a martyr’s brother, and the architect of a new Poland — one whose image would grace monuments and fill history books. And even if people stop reading those books, the statues will remain.
With Piłsudski and Wałęsa, history paved the way. In Kaczyński’s case, it may have to be forced into line.
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