How a mysterious death could influence Poland’s political landscape ahead of the election
The opposition is accusing the Polish government of nothing less than facilitating the death of a politician from the inner circle of the Law and Justice (PiS) party leader.
On 15 March, at the age of 66, Barbara Skrzypek passed away, not just one of the key functionaries of the party, but also one of the most trusted confidantes of its leader, Jarosław Kaczyński.
This happened only three days after she was questioned by prosecutors in the case of the company Srebrna, the only case in which Kaczyński himself is implicated.
Read more about the scandal and its potential consequences ahead of the first round of Poland’s presidential elections in the article by Stanislav Zhelikhovsky, PhD in political science and international expert – The martyr of the new Poland: how the death of Kaczyński’s former aide deepened the political crisis.
For more than thirty years, Barbara Skrzypek was a long-time associate of Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jarosław Kaczyński. Known in party circles as Pani Basia, she served as head of the chancellery and director of the party leader’s office.
In 2018, while Kaczyński’s party was in power, Pani Basia was ranked 41st in Wprost magazine’s list of the 50 most influential people in Poland. The magazine described her as "the most mysterious and, at the same time, one of the most important women in Polish politics."
She worked with Kaczyński until 2020 and then she retired.
Additionally, Skrzypek was an authorised representative of the Lech Kaczyński Institute, a key shareholder in Srebrna. Moreover, she personally owned two shares in the company (with her son holding another).
In early February 2025, the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into Srebrna over allegations that Austrian businessman Gerald Birgfellner had been misled regarding property transactions worth at least €1.3 million. Skrzypek was questioned in this case.
The core of the scandal revolves around Srebrna’s plans to build two skyscrapers in Warsaw, worth 1.3 billion zlotys. Investigators suspect that corruption and illegal financing may have played a role in the project’s execution.
At the center of the probe is Jarosław Kaczyński himself, suspected of soliciting a bribe to secure favourable conditions for the project.
Austrian businessman Gerald Birgfellner, owner of Nuneaton, who filed the complaint, even provided authorities with recordings of conversations with Kaczyński, which could be interpreted as evidence of bribery.
On 12 March, Skrzypek was summoned for questioning, a development that could have been a turning point in the case. Her deep knowledge of PiS’s internal workings and her proximity to Kaczyński made her a potentially valuable witness.
This is why her sudden death, just three days after her questioning, immediately triggered a wave of controversy and speculation. Members of Law and Justice have also attempted to link her death to the interrogation.
The "Two Towers" case could become the Achilles’ heel of Law and Justice, particularly its leadership.
First, Birgfellner’s recordings shatter the carefully curated image of Jarosław Kaczyński as an old-fashioned politician concerned only with state affairs and detached from business dealings.
However, this scandal could also turn into an image disaster for Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform. It could boost the position of the far-right, openly anti-Ukrainian party Confederation, which has long argued that there is little real difference between PiS and Civic Platform.
This argument has proven so effective that Confederation’s candidate, Sławomir Mentzen, is now being considered a serious contender for the second round of the presidential election.