POLAND: Poland's main opposition party rejected a government plan yesterday to dissolve parliament and force a general election.
The rejection comes just a few months after the last election, and amid a damaging political stalemate between the ruling party and its populist partners.
Law and Justice party (PiS) leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said he wanted parliament to vote by April 6th on whether to dissolve itself and hold fresh elections "before the visit of Pope Benedict to Poland on May 25th".
Mr Kaczynski said the EU's largest new member should vote again - after going to the polls last autumn - to give the government a stronger mandate and obviate the kind of "stability pact" that PiS signed with the ultra-conservative League of Polish Families and the left-wing Self-Defence party to secure a majority in parliament.
"The stability pact has been a disappointment."
Mr Kaczynski said from its first weeks of existence the pact had been faced with "surprising attitudes" from the smaller parties.
Financial and political analysts have been irked by the government's alliance with parties that are sceptical about the EU and the euro, and hostile to economic reforms that are vital in a country where unemployment is at 18 per cent.
However, the liberal Civic Platform (PO) opposition rejected Mr Kaczynski's proposal, as did his supposed allies the League of Polish Families and Self-Defence.
"The Civic Platform will vote against early elections in May," said PO leader Donald Tusk.
"If PiS give in and recognise that they are incapable of governing, and we need early elections, let's hold them in the most reasonable and least costly way at the same time as municipal elections (in October)," he said.
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