POLAND: Poland's ruling party says it's prepared to bury the hatchet and rebuild its majority in parliament ahead of a vote on an opposition motion to shorten parliament's term
Record ID:
789105
POLAND: Poland's ruling party says it's prepared to bury the hatchet and rebuild its majority in parliament ahead of a vote on an opposition motion to shorten parliament's term
- Title: POLAND: Poland's ruling party says it's prepared to bury the hatchet and rebuild its majority in parliament ahead of a vote on an opposition motion to shorten parliament's term
- Date: 13th October 2006
- Summary: (CEEF) WARSAW, POLAND (OCTOBER 11, 2006) (REUTERS) PARLIAMENT BUILDING POLISH FLAG
- Embargoed: 28th October 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Poland
- Country: Poland
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA8IDRPTJLJKX2HSLA9ECUJ2F9D
- Story Text: Poland's ruling Law and Justice party said on Wednesday (October 11) it was prepared to bury the hatchet and rebuild its majority in parliament with the leftist Self-Defence party to avoid a snap election.
Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski ditched Self-Defence from the government last month after a row over the 2007 budget and plans to send more troops to Afghanistan.
But, in the face of dismal opinion polls, Kaczynski and his twin brother Lech, Poland's president, have made clear they will not heed opposition calls to shorten parliament's term and now say they could welcome back Self-Defence.
Leader of the pro-business opposition party Civic platform, Donald Tusk, said it was time to dissolve parliament.
"We are positive that recent events in Polish politics will convince a majority in parliament to dissolve parliament. I consider this the best solution for Poland. A better government which takes care of the citizens cannot be formed in this parliament as it is. There have been repeated questions about a constructive vote for no confidence which would take power away from this bad government. This notion would have to propose a new and more effective government within this parliament," Tusk told journalists.
Kaczynski met Self-Defence leader Andrzej Lepper and the leader of a junior coalition party, the nationalist League of Polish Families, for an hour on Wednesday, Polish media reported. None of the party heads had any immediate comment.
Lepper has said he will join the opposition in voting down the 2007 budget at the ongoing session of parliament unless he is put back in government.
He has also threatened to back an opposition motion to dissolve parliament and call snap polls, although without support from Law and Justice the motion is set to be defeated. The vote is due on Thursday.
But, a senior official of the Law and Justice party said that despite the coalition's fragility it was still the best option for Poland.
"The Civic Platform have adopted an unconstructive stance of dismissing any solution," said Tadeusz Cymanski
"Our unstable and fragile coalition is presently our only option, it represents the best solution from a bad situation. The Platform is not proposing any solution, they are simply diverting attention from the fact that they seek a coalition with the Social Democrats. The citizens have the right to know Platforma's intentions. At the moment Platform's ambiguous and deceptive stance is simply a smoke screen to the truth for millions of citizens," said Cymanski.
In power for nearly a year, Kaczynski promised to dismantle what he calls "uklad", a corrupt web of businessmen, secret police and ex-communists he says gained most from the 1989 revolution.
But his government with Lepper and radical nationalists proved rocky, denting Kaczynski's popularity and all but paralysing economic reforms needed for euro zone membership.
Analysts say Lepper and Kaczynski stand to lose if elections are held now because the opposition parties, Civic Platform and the mainstream left, are gaining popularity rapidly in opinion polls.
Some analysts suggest Kaczynski may still go for an early election later this year or in early 2007, with next month's local polls regarded as a test of his party's ability to hold on to power. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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