Coalition deja vu?

The Sejm didn't hold a vote on dissolving itself last Thursday as the chamber's Speaker, Marek Jurek, had assured. Instead, Law and Justice (PiS), the League of Polish Families (LPR) and Self-defense (SO) voted together to introduce a five-day break, thus giving themselves more time for negotiations. The opposition accused Jurek of breaking his promise, but to little avail.

"If around 250 deputies want a break, then we have to allow it," the Sejm's Speaker explained. Voting in favor of the pause were 241 deputies, while 182 voted against it, and 17 members of the Peasants' Party (PSL) abstained. A return to the previous coalition now seems inevitable.

The three parties have already set up negotiating teams to deal with the most important issues, such as the division of positions, the budget, bills important for the coalition as well as rules for cooperation within the coalition. The mutual accusations and insults following SO leader Andrzej Lepper's dismissal three weeks ago now seem long forgotten.

Lepper is expected to either return to the Deputy Prime Minister position or become the Speaker of the Sejm. He wants the deal to be guaranteed by the President. Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, on a visit to the Vatican, said that he was confident an agreement would be reached this week. PiS' Whip, Marek Kuchciński, claims that although the negotiations are primarily taking place with LPR and SO, all possible options are still being considered.

However, Marek Sawicki from PSL said that there are no talks being held between his party and PiS.