PM not to take part in election campaign until after his father's funeral

Kornel Morawiecki, the anti-communist opposition activist, leader of Fighting Solidarity, Senior Speaker of the Sejm (lower house) and father of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, will be laid to rest at Warsaw's Powązki Military cemetery.

"Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will not take part in the ongoing election campaign until after the funeral of his father," the head of the PM's Office Michał Dworczyk announced on Tuesday, adding that "this will be a state funeral."

Dworczyk stressed that PM Morawiecki was very close to his father.

"Of course, the PM will be excluded from the election campaign until after the funeral," he said.

Asked about the date of the funeral, Dworczyk said that it will be announced after such a decision has been made.

Kornel Morawiecki died at the age of 78 on Monday, following a short battle with cancer. He had recently been awarded the Order of the White Eagle for his achievements in public service.

In 1982, he established Solidarność Walcząca (Fighting Solidarity) after the imposition of martial law in Poland (on Dec. 13, 1981). Fighting Solidarity comprised those Solidarity activists who did not agree with the moderate programme represented by the Solidarity trade union and favoured more radical action.

He was the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party candidate in the October 13 elections to the Senate from the Podlaskie province, north-eastern Poland.