In a further sign of tensions within Poland’s ruling camp, the justice minister – who is the leader of a junior coalition partner in the governing coalition – has accused the prime minister of accepting the “diktat of Brussels and Berlin”.
Last year, the Polish and Hungarian governments threatened to veto the EU budget and coronavirus recovery plan unless a mechanism linking funds to respect for the rule of law was dropped. In the end, a compromise was reached in December.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki hailed it as providing “stronger guarantees” that Poland would be protected from the rule-of-law mechanism. But Zbigniew Ziobro – the justice minister and leader of United Poland (Solidarna Polska) – called it a “mistake”.
Speaking today to Catholic broadcaster Siódma9, Ziobro reinforced that criticism. He also suggested that this dispute could have serious consequences for the ruling coalition, which, as well as his hard-right party, is made up of the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) and centre-right Agreement (Porozumienie).
“We appealed to the prime minister to exercise a veto…[and] he consistently announced that he would,” said Ziobro, who is regarded as a chief rival to Morawiecki. “But he eventually agreed to the diktat of Brussels and Berlin.”
The justice minister, who also serves as prosecutor general, warned that the rule-of-law mechanism could be used to imposed “ideological” issues on Poland in areas such as the family and marriage. His party has been at the forefront of the government’s efforts to oppose what it calls “LGBT ideology”.
“This is a real difference [within the ruling coalition] – resulting not from some temporary tensions or ambitions, but from a strategic difference related to the vision of Poland’s development and future,” continued Ziobro.
“At the December [EU] summit, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made decisions that, in our opinion, contradict the goals that formed the basis for the establishment of the United Right [coalition],” he concluded.
While Ziobro’s party has only 19 of the United Right’s 234 parliamentary seats, without it the government does not have a majority. That has led to concerns that parliament may not vote to ratify the EU recovery fund. That would be “suicidal”, the financial minister told the Financial Times today.
Poland’s finance minister says it would be “suicidal” for parliament to vote against ratifying the EU recovery fund.
A junior coalition partner has expressed opposition to the fund, and the government may have to rely on opposition votes to pass it https://t.co/d2UJgDXmSH
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 12, 2021
Disagreements within the ruling coalition have become increasingly apparent over the last year, with the government reportedly on the verge of collapse last autumn. An agreement was reached for it to continue, but unease, and sometimes open criticism, between the partners has continued.
That has led to speculation that early elections could be called, or that PiS – the dominant member of the coalition – could seek to rule in a minority government. PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński told Gazeta Polska last week that he “does not rule out” early elections.
“Either we come to an agreement or we will have early elections within a year,” warned Jarosław Gowin, leader of Agreement, in an interview with Super Express last week. Gowin has also faced a rebellion within his own party, with some suggesting Kaczyński has encouraged it.
Many commentators, however, note that all three ruling parties would have much to lose if the coalition fell apart, and that therefore such a scenario remains unlikely.
Main image credit: P.Tracz/ KPRM (under public domain)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
