"Mohair berets" () is a tongue-in-cheek expression that stands for people who support the views expressed by the Polish conservative-nationalistic Catholic movement, whose main representative is Father Tadeusz Rydzyk. This expression originated from the characteristic headgear worn by the stereotypical representatives of this circle. History The expression “mohair berets” was used for the first time in 2004 and it referred to the people who were regularly attending masses in Gdańsk celebrated by Henryk Jankowski, the parish priest. When he was dismissed from his post, the same parishioners staged demonstrations in his defence. A beret made of mohair or its imitation, and often a handmade one, is commonly associated with its typical wearers, mostly poor elderly ladies. That is the exact social environment of many of Jankowski’s followers who were shown on television. Probably the first article which introduced the expression “mohair berets” to the Polish press was the one published in the daily Rzeczpospolita from 23 October 2004 titled “Labyrinths of the parish priest”. It reads as follows: “Old ladies have their eyes fixed on Father Jankowski and they hang on his every word. Rumour has it that the prelate has his own legion of mohair berets in Gdańsk.” The expression has spread over the journalism and discussions on Internet forums and started to be used when referring to broader social groups, mostly active listeners of the Catholic radio station Radio Maryja. The term “mohair berets” became commonly used after Robert Górecki, a photojournalist of Gazeta Wyborcza, published the photograph on the Internet which depicted the 14th anniversary of Radio Maryja in December 2005. The picture showed numerous listeners of the radio with berets on their heads. Then the term entered the language of politics and became partly associated with the supporters of those parties which were given plenty of broadcast time on Radio Maryja during the election campaign in 2005, especially the electorate of the League of Polish Families (LPR) and Law and Justice (PiS). The mohair coalition The phrase “mohair berets” gained a widespread popularity in colloquial language, particularly in some political skirmishes. The example of such a reference is the term “mohair coalition” used by Donald Tusk during the debate in Sejm on the inaugural address of a newly designated Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz on 10 November 2005. “Poland deserves more than what is currently known as a mohair coalition,” said Donald Tusk. The PO leader used