No future for PO-PiS
Coming on the heels of Law and Justice's (PiS) unexpected appointment of high-profile former Civic Platform (PO) member Zyta Gilowska as the new Finance Minister, PO leader Donald Tusk made an appeal to PiS leaders for a new attempt at forming a coalition.
"I call on Jarosław Kaczyński and Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz to present publicly their conditions for a good coalition," said Tusk. He envisioned forming the coalition after a constructive vote of no confidence in Marcinkiewicz's cabinet. PO was apparently willing to accept Jarosław Kaczyński as the Prime Minister of such a government.
PO's proposition raised eyebrows within PiS, but the party's leaders at least listened. After negotiations with Tusk, in which the prevailing subject was the budget, Marcinkiewicz said: "We had a very good conversation." PO has already prepared 70 amendments to the government's proposed budget, which aim at reducing the budget deficit by approximately zł.3 billion.
Kaczyński admitted that it is difficult to rule in the Sejm without a permanent agreement. "[There must be] either a decent coalition in this parliament, or elections," he said.
However, any coalition now looks to be doomed and PiS seem to be looking elsewhere for support. Adam Lipinski, the conservatives' number two, stated: "After the failure of talks with the Platform, we are ready to seriously consider a parliamentary coalition and in the future also a government coalition with Self-Defence, the Polish Peasants' Party and even the League of Polish Families."
PO's shadow foreign affairs spokesman Bronisław Komorowski told news channel TVN24: "It is good that the situation is now clear. We have nothing left to talk about with Law and Justice."
When PO and PiS were running for parliamentary elections in September 2005, they intended to create a coalition. Finally, those plans failed and PiS, which won the election by a small majority, formed a minority government supported by populist parties. PO then moved into opposition. (Reuters)
