The Polish coalition government, on the brink of collapse and facing a possible call for elections

Bench of the Law and Justice party, with Jaroslaw Kaczynski in the center of the front row, on September 17 in the lower house of Poland AGENCJA GAZETA / Reuters

In Poland it is well known that Jaroslaw Kaczynski loves animals.

Especially cats.

At the beginning of September, the shadow leader of the Government Law and Justice (PiS) party, appeared by surprise on the social network TikTok to make young people aware of the importance of the bill that PiS was going to present for improvement of animal welfare.

An unusual fact considering that the ultra-conservative politician does not lavish much in public.

"He is a real

of animals, "says political analyst Lukasz Warzecha by phone. That is why it did not sit well with him that the two coalition partners of PiS and even members of their formation voted last Thursday against this law that prohibits animal husbandry to obtain fur, the use of animals in circuses, limit ritual sacrifices and improve the living conditions of pets. The legislative project went ahead with the majority of votes of the PiS and the opposition, but since then, the future of The United Right coalition, which has kept Law and Justice in power since 2015, hangs by a thread. "All options are on the table. Governing in the minority or calling early elections," Piotr Muller, PIS spokesman, said on Friday , to the local media.

Neither Solidarna Polska (a far-right formation) nor the centrists of the Porozumienie party, which are the two government partners, have agreed with the project that Kaczynski has promoted so much.

A law that has raised blisters in the livestock sector of a country that is the world's third largest producer of animal skins (mainly mink and foxes) and the second in the EU, after Denmark.

According to the

newspaper

its implementation would have a negative economic impact of approximately 1,600 million euros.

Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski, Minister of Agriculture of the fifth-largest EU country (since the UK left), has always defended the interests of farmers and was one of the 15 PiS MPs who voted against, disobeying orders of the party.

"If we decide that animals are more important than people, it will be the end of civilization," Ardanowski declared days before the vote on a Polish radio station.

But beyond animal rights, this government crisis shows the internal wars between PiS and its partners.

This Monday, the main leaders of the PiS have met urgently in their office in Warsaw to resolve the situation with their partners.

The tension is such that experts do not rule out the electoral advance.

After the meeting ended, PIS MEP Karol Karski told reporters that "the situation is complex but not insoluble", according to the Polish television channel Tvn24.

Zbigniew Ziobro, the man who challenges Kaczynski

In this dialectical battle, the most visible face that has dared to challenge the official doctrine of PiS has been Zbigniew Ziobro, founder of Solidarna Polska and Polish Minister of Justice.

The 19 deputies of this right-wing formation voted against the animal rights project.

"At the bottom, here is a political strategy of Solidarna Polska, which seeks to win over public opinion and become stronger in the Government," explains PiS MEP Ryszard Czarnecki by phone.

Ziobro has gained popularity in the last year with his hard line towards gays, distancing himself from the EU.

"He wants to win over the PiS electorate," says Polish analyst Lukasz Warzecha by telephone.

“On the other hand, there is also a struggle between the leaders of the right to see who will replace - sooner or later - Kaczynski, who is already 71 years old.

Ziobro competes with the hitherto right-hand man of the older, more moderate-toned leader, Mateusz Morawiecki, whose reputation has been marred by a financial corruption scandal, ”he adds.

Ziobro was part of Law and Justice until 2011, but already then he challenged Kaczynski and was expelled from the party.

Now it is not known how it will come out of this crisis, if reinforced within the most radical wing of the Polish right, or excluded again.

This morning, the ultraconservative leader has shown a more conciliatory tone in the face of the crisis that he is experiencing again with his previous formation: "I think the United Right coalition is good ... I am convinced that this project has a great future ahead of it and can do a lot of good for Poland ”, he declared at a press conference.

So far, the United Right coalition (which includes PiS and its two partners) has 235 out of 460 seats in the Lower House (S

), which has allowed the ultra-conservative Poles to govern with a majority. Apart from its disagreements with animal rights, there is another PiS proposal that its partners have not supported: it is the controversial law that would guarantee immunity to political representatives and officials who may have violated - or who violate - the law. law in their fight to prevent and combat the pandemic. Ziobro has frontally opposed this measure because it would prevent him from investigating what happened during the pandemic management. Finally, the bill was withdrawn from Thursday's agenda in the

for lack of support and has been parked. For now.