Janusz Palikot: photo - PAP/Andrzej Hrechorowicz
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10.15 CET: Palikot said that his movement, which got 10 percent of the vote in last Sunday's parliamentary elections, has more right to be in the coalition than PSL – which has been in coalition with Civic Platform for the last four years – as they got only 8 percent support.
Both Palikot, and leader of PSL, Waldemar Pawlak, will be having meetings with President Bronislaw Komorowski today to discuss possible coalition agreements.
Yesterday, Komorowski had meetings with Civic Platform leader, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the largest opposition party in parliament, Law and Justice.
Palikot also said yesterday that he may support Donald Tusk's idea of waiting to make major changes to the Civic Platform/PSL government until the new year, and after Poland has finished its six-month EU presidency, which ends on 31 December.
But Palikot called for a “government of experts”, however, mentioning only one name, Professor Magdalena Środa, who he said should be minister of education.
10.55 CET: Advisor to President Komorowski has told Polish Radio that Tusk's proposal to delay making changes to the government until after the EU presidency is a good idea as it “squares the circle”
"Ministers, who for months have been preparing for the EU presidency, can use their experience,” he said this morning, while Tusk could maximise time limits as laid down by Poland's constitution to form a new coalition.
11.00 CET: Opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski's controversial statement in a pre-election book, about German Chancellor Angela Merkel not getting into power “by pure chance” was highlighted for potential removal by his publishers, claims a leading daily.
Rzeczpospolita writes that the passage had been singled out by a pre-publication reviewer as a potentially damaging remark.
According to the paper's sources, the reviewer was employed to give feedback to Kaczynski's party staff on aspects of the book, but the Merkel matter was consciously ignored by party members. The paper states that two explanations are circulating within the ranks of Law and Justice (PiS), as to why the passages were not cut. One is that it was believed that tough words about Germany might strike a chord with some potential Polish voters, the other that Kaczynski himself refused to approve thecutting of the offending passages.
Kaczynski also writes that “Merkel belongs to a generation of German politicians that would like to reinstate Germany's imperial power,” raising thespectre of ancient territory disputes with Poland's western neighbour.
14.45 CET: PM Donald Tusk is to recommend the current health minister Ewa Kopacz to be speaker of the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, it has been announced. This is one of the most powerful positions in Polish politics and is in keeping with Tusk's aim to promote more women to top positions. Speaker during the last parliament, Grzegorz Schetyna will return to his old post as deputy prime minister.
It is unknown who will replace Koracz at the health ministry.
14.40 CET: The first meeting of the new parliament will be on 8 November, it has been announced.
14.45 CET: After President Komorowski met with the leader of PSL, Waldemar Pawlak, this afternoon for half an hour, Polish Radio's IAR news service is reporting that the new coalition, whenever it comes into force, will be a continuation of the current Civic Platform/PSL pact.
14.50 CET: Civic Platform's MP Pawel Olszewski has told Polish Radio: “There will be no coalition with Palikot. We have a parliamentary majority and there is no reason to choose other partners.”
Online reporting by Peter Gentle and Nick Hodge