Premier tells the nation live on TV - the coalition has collapsed

Following Thursday's vote in the Sejm on vignettes which put the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) at odds with its coalition partner, the Polish Peasants Party (PSL), Prime Minister Leszek Miller announced in a national television broadcast that the coalition with the PSL is no longer workable and he has opted to go it alone with the Labor Union (UP) in a minority government just around 100 days before a referendum on joining the EU. Miller sacked the PSL leader and Agriculture Minister Jaroslaw Kalinowski and Environment Minister Stanislaw Zelichowski. But he said he still counted on the support of his erstwhile allies on many issues, including EU entry. Analysts say the collapse of the 16-month coalition may dent public support for EU entry and raises the possibility of early elections. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1; Rze czpospolita, p. B1; Puls Biznesu, p. 1; Reuters) J.K.