Jarosław Kaczyński, who is not prime minister despite leading the biggest party in Poland’s ruling conservative coalition, will take on a new role as the head of a security committee, PAP reported in the early hours of Thursday.
The move, if officially confirmed, will be a surprise development in a political crisis which party officials had warned could result in the breakup of Poland’s conservative coalition, a minority government or early elections.
Kaczyński and Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, the head of a smaller grouping that is part of the government, held talks on Wednesday evening in Warsaw to discuss the future of the conservative coalition which has ruled the country since 2015.
The United Right coalition, which is headed by Law and Justice and also comprises Ziobro’s strongly conservative Solidarna Polska party and the Porozumienie (Agreement) grouping, secured a second term in power in a parliamentary ballot on October 13.
Tensions between three allies spilled over after the junior partners in the coalition last week refused to support an animal rights bill strongly backed by Kaczyński.
Ryszard Terlecki, a senior lawmaker with Law and Justice, on Friday warned that a minority government or early elections in Poland could not be ruled out.
He said at the time: "At the moment the situation is such that the coalition is practically nonexistent.”
Without lawmakers from its two junior coalition partners, Law and Justice would not have a majority in Poland’s lower house.
(pk/gs)
Source: PAP