A controversial far-right party led by Polish politician Grzegorz Braun has climbed to third place in polling for the first time, reports RMF24.
According to a survey by Poland's National Research Group, if parliamentary elections to the Sejm were held next Sunday, Braun's "Confederation of the Polish Crown" would receive 11.18% of the vote. The party has overtaken the "Confederation" of Sławomir Mentzen and Krzysztof Bosak, which would garner 10.67%.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's governing "Civic Platform" party leads the poll with 35.29%, down 2.7 percentage points from November's survey. Jarosław Kaczyński's "Law and Justice" (PiS) party follows in second place with 31.21%, recovering support compared to the previous poll.
Under this vote distribution, "Civic Platform" would secure 191 seats in the Sejm, PiS would get 178, "Confederation of the Polish Crown" would claim 48, and "Confederation" would take 43. These results would give right-wing forces a majority in the lower house of the Polish parliament.
Braun has drawn attention for multiple inflammatory incidents. He attempted what he called a "citizen's arrest" of a gynecologist, burned an EU flag in Katowice earlier this year, and tore down a Ukrainian flag in the town of Biała Podlaska.
Poland's Interior Minister has threatened to ban Braun's party over pro-Russian statements. The country's Prosecutor General submitted a request to the European Parliament to lift Braun's immunity following his remarks about the Auschwitz concentration camp. On 13 November, MEPs voted to strip Braun of his immunity.
