Polish Government Loses Key Votes, Putting Future In Doubt

The future of Poland’s government was thrown into doubt on Wednesday after it lost four votes in a session dominated by a fierce debate over a law that critics say would curb media freedom.

The parliamentary drama raises the prospect of early elections and comes a day after the departure from the government of the Agreement party. It had been a junior partner in the ruling coalition led by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party.

In one of the four votes, MPs voted by 229 to 227 to suspend the session in the 460-seat lower house in order to postpone a vote on the media law.

But speaker Elzbieta Witek, a PiS party member, ordered another vote which the government won by 230 to 225 to resume proceedings despite howls of outrage from the opposition.

The PiS’s fragile parliamentary majority does not mean that the government will collapse as a formal vote of no confidence by parliament would be required for that to happen and it could continue as a minority government.

But commentators have said a minority government would be difficult to sustain long-term as it would have to rely on the far-right Confederation party, which is highly critical of the government.

The next elections are currently scheduled for 2023.

The United Right coalition, which is dominated by the PiS, has governed Poland since 2015.

It has been accused by the European Union of rolling back democratic freedoms but is still popular among many Poles, mainly for its social welfare reforms.