PM Tusk and Economy Minister Pawlak are having trouble seeing eye to eye Courtesy of KPRM

The integrity of the governing PO-PSL coalition has been put to the test over a number of issues in recent weeks, rekindling speculation about whether it would manage to hold together until the end of the present term of Parliament.

Earlier this month, rifts between the two parties emerged as it came to light that Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Waldemar Pawlak, who is also the head of the PSL party, might potentially be involved in a conflict of interest and nepotistic practices. Pressure on PO mounted for it to react to the situation in the name of defending the high public service standards that the party had promised in the last election campaign. PSL, for its part, saw the revelations as unjust attacks on the party.

In the end, Prime Minister Donald Tusk abstained from sacrificing the coalition over the issue and Pawlak retained his job, even though a similar case involving PO senator Tomasz Misiak resulted in the senator leaving the party.

“The coalition is not ideal, but it is optimal,” Tusk said at a press conference, adding that his understanding of high standards in public life did not necessarily have to be shared by his coalition partners and probably wasn’t.

The two parties have also recently had public disagreements over a number of policy issues. The future of nuclear energy in Poland, for one, continues to divide the coalition partners, with PM Tusk on the side of constructing nuclear power plants as fast as possible and Pawlak stressing the need to cut down on energy consumption and to focus on renewable energy sources. As a result, the parties have so far failed to agree on a candidate for the post of government plenipotentiary for the construction of nuclear power plants.

A PO bill that envisions suspension of state financing of political parties may yet not obtain PSL’s backing. PSL regards the proposed legislation as leaving room for potential abuse and thus dangerous to democracy.