Polish coalition falls in farm post row

A JUNIOR partner in Poland’s ruling coalition said yesterday it was withdrawing its two ministers from government in a move that could set the scene for early legislative elections.

“The coalition exists no more,” the head of the Samoobrona (Auto-Defence) party, Andrzej Lepper, told reporters following a vote by senior party members to end the partnership with Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Mr Lepper said the coalition was “broken by Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s party” which last week appointed a controversial farm minister over Samoobrona’s protests.