2020-09-26 13:21 update: 2020-09-28, 12:59
Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
The leaders of Poland's United Right alliance, ruling party Law and Justice's Jaroslaw Kaczynski, junior partner Agreement's Jaroslaw Gowin and the other junior member Solidary Poland’s Zbigniew Ziobro, signed a new coalition deal in Warsaw on Saturday.
The signing of the new agreement followed talks which continued throughout the week to end a crisis which occurred in the ruling coalition after last Friday's vote in parliament, when Law and Justice (PiS) allies refused to support an amendment to animal protection laws.
"I am deeply convinced that today will go down well in our history, Kaczynski said before the signing of the new deal. "We have three years ahead of us till the next parliamentary elections and I am quite sure that these will be years well spent for Poland," he added.
In his opinion, the new coalition agreement is a guarantee that "everything possible to strengthen our community and improve the life of every citizen will be done."
According to Gowin, "pluralism has always been the strength of the United Right."
"At the same time, the strength of our camp is internal unity, which we confirm today" - he added.
The coalition partners have settled on a new government programme for the next three years and on a new government structure to be "more condensed", with fewer ministries. Gowin said.
In Ziobro's view, the past five years have been "good years for Poland". He said he believes that the next three years will also be a good time "only if we cooperate in unison, respecting the decisions of Poles who have decided to trust the United Right."
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, present at the signing event, said that the new deal was also the ruling camp's agreement with their voters on the implementation of its programme for the next three years.
"I am very glad that our full unity and stability, which are so much needed today, have been confirmed, Morawiecki said.
"We have a stable government, we have a stable parliamentary majority, we have a programme, we are proceeding to the next stage of our programme for the good of Polish citizens, for the good of Poland," he added.
The details of the Saturday agreement have not yet been disclosed but according to PAP sources close to the PiS leadership, Kaczynski is likely to join the government as a deputy prime minister overseeing the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.
Additionally, each of the junior coalition partners will supervise only one ministry.
The number of ministries is to be significantly reduced from the current 20, some will be combined. (PAP)
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