Until now, Law and Justice has been unified and "behind closed doors" when it comes to personnel decisions. Journalists used to assume that Kaczyński was the sole decision-maker, authoritarian but pragmatic when it came to accepting the wishes of e.g. Zbigniew Ziobro's Sovereign Poland (a coalition partner) or Rydzyk's Radio Maria (an influential media voice).
This week, an unexpected split has occurred, with former prime minister Beata Szydło publicly criticising Kaczyński's characterisation of the right potential candidate as a "tall, handsome man, speaking English well". Szydło replied bluntly on RMF FM radio, "I don't agree with these words. At this moment that is not what is important for Polish people."
Rather than expressing a feminist indignance, this is more likely to be code for: "We need to appeal to our base" rather than appealing to middle-ground voters. Szydło has long been popular with Law and Justice's grassroots voters from small towns, presumably the "Polish people" for whom ,a modern international outlook is "not important".
Kaczyński has had a somewhat strange relationship to women in key political roles. His attempt to soften his image by appearing with younger women was frequently mocked - instead of "Charlie's Angels", the press wrote about "Kaczyński's Angels". This appeared to be rather cynical political marketing than a genuine attempt at greater representation for women.
There was also considerable media speculation about the role of fellow PiS MP Jolanta Szczypińska (who died in 2018). Kaczyński appeared to encourage media speculation that he was dating her, to give himself a softer or more traditional image.
Sources: PAP, Newsweek, Dzieje.pl
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