The conservative-nationalist coalition in power in Poland erupted on Tuesday August 10 after Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the resignation of his deputy, leader of one of the three coalition parties.

"Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Tuesday called on President Andrzej Duda to remove Jaroslaw Gowin from the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development, Labor and Technology, government spokesman Piotr Müller told reporters.

Shortly after, Jaroslaw Gowin, leader of the Entente party, one of the three formations of the coalition led by Law and Justice (PiS) announced that his party was leaving the coalition.

"We are leaving the government with our heads held high, my resignation is the end of the United Right and the collapse of the coalition," he told reporters.

Economic reform

Jaroslaw Gowin and his party have been at odds with PiS for months, notably over a major economic reform to come. 

But his departure does not mean that the government automatically falls because it would require a formal vote of no confidence in Parliament.

The ruling right has so far had a majority of 232 deputies out of a total of 460 in the lower house.

Jaroslaw Gowin's party has 10 MPs and his resignation could push PiS to seek a majority with other small parties, including the far right, non-party MPs, as well as MPs from the Jaroslaw Gowin Entente.

According to Radoslaw Fogiel, a PiS MP, some of Jaroslaw Gowin's decisions "were not shared by his colleagues".

"We hope that they will continue this project with us," he told reporters.

Jaroslaw Gowin opposes the tax aspect of the reform dear to PiS which, according to him, should mainly affect the middle class.

"We announced that the United Right would not increase taxes. However, the tax bill recently introduced by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki means a drastic increase in taxes," he told reporters, indicating that he learned of his resignation from the media.

Freedom of speech threatened

Jaroslaw Gowin also opposes a bill that could force the US group Discovery to sell most of its stake in the main Polish private television network TVN, a law expected to be passed on Wednesday and which the opposition said , threatens freedom of speech in Poland.

Lex TVN is an important law for PiS and its chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski who already fully controls public television TVP, which has become a government propaganda medium, and via a state corporation a large part of the regional press.

On Tuesday evening, protests against this proposed law took place across Poland.

"There is something symbolic about my resignation being announced at a time when protests are taking place all over Poland against the so-called lex TVN law," Jaroslaw Gowin told reporters.

"This law clearly violates the principle of media freedom."

According to him, "Lex TVN is pushing us towards a conflict with the United States, which is the most important ally from a defense point of view."

With AFP

The summary of the week

France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR