In Poland, an animal protection law shakes the ruling coalition

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, president of the Law and Justice party, is at the origin of this law which divides the ruling coalition.

AP Photo / Czarek Sokolowski

Text by: Damien Simonart

3 min

Divisions within the Law and Justice party came to light during the passage of an animal protection law. 

Publicity

Read more

From our correspondent in Warsaw, 

This law on animal protection at the origin of the divisions which are born within the coalition is composed of five measures and two of them arouse great emotion.

The first is the ban on raising animals for their fur, except rabbits, and the second, the restriction on ritual slaughter.

The latter will be authorized only for the needs of the small Muslim and Jewish communities in Poland. 

Economically, it is a law with serious consequences because the turnover of the breeders concerned amounts to more than 1.5 billion euros per year.

Poland is notably a major exporter of kosher meat to Israel and the world's third largest producer of fur behind China and Denmark, according to NGOs, with more than 500 farms of this type across the country.

A law that threatens the ruling coalition

This law is the "baby" of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the president of the Law and Justice party (PiS) whose love for cats is known in Poland.

Kaczynski was particularly mobilized by even posting a message on

the TikTok network

, he who has neither Facebook nor Twitter.

Before the vote which took place on the night of Thursday to Friday, he imposed a voting instruction on his party and the two other members of the conservative coalition.

The law was passed thanks to opposition votes, but the two coalition partners as well as several PiS deputies, including the Minister of Agriculture, voted against or abstained in the name of economic patriotism.

The day after the vote, fifteen deputies were suspended from the party by decision of

Jaroslaw Kaczynski

and some PiS tenors claimed that the coalition no longer existed.

An impact on the next government reshuffle

These divisions within the coalition could well have an impact on the government reshuffle expected in the coming weeks.

During the previous mandate, the PiS had ceded two ministries to each of its coalition partners.

But on the strength of his recent electoral victories, he would now like to withdraw one from each, which does not please the parties concerned at all.

The reshuffle negotiations have been underway for several weeks and it is rumored that all this controversy around the law on animal rights is only a political game to put pressure on each other.

In the meantime, the farmers - who are the base of the PiS electorate - are on the streets.

It is a very risky game for the conservative power.

Meetings at the top of the PiS party are expected to take place on Monday to discuss the future of the tripartite coalition.

Until then, the game of lying poker is likely to escalate. 

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Poland

  • Wildlife