Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) has concluded a "stabilisation pact" with the populist Samoobrona and the extreme right League of Polish Families (LPR). According to PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the move "signals a radical change in our country".
Poland had been facing the prospect of holding early elections only four months after the previous vote, which left PiS at the head of a minority government, commanding only 155 of the 460 seats in the Sejm (parliament). The lack of consensus in the Sejm has prevented the approval of a budget for 2006, which had in turn brought the prospect of snap elections closer.
The new "stabilisation pact", which consists of 140 articles, is valid for 12 months with the possibility of it being extended. The new coalition now gives the government of Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz a majority backing in the Sejm. Andrzej Lepper, the leader of Samoobrona, explained that "the people did not want [early] elections, and we saved them from [that]".
“The coalition will help strengthen the Polish position in view of the other countries,” PiS leader Kaczynski stated. “The protection of our national interests will be on everyday’s agenda and our partners must know this.”
According to observers, the pact signals a clear shift to the political right and effectively rules out the possibility of early elections. At the same time, it raises more questions than it answers.
