"Early election possible" Ruling coalition in crisis over passing animal rights bill

The chief of the Law and Justice parliamentary club Ryszard Terlecki said on Friday that early parliamentary election would be necessary if the ruling party party falls out with its coalition partners.

He added that the party leadership would meet on Monday to discuss how to proceed and to decide the fate of politicians who had voted against the will of PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński.

PiS lawmaker Marek Suski told TVN24, that Kaczyński was likely to sign a decision on Friday, that would remove the defiant politicians from the ruling party. "At this point we have a minority government" - he added and called politicians from United Poland and Accord "former coalition partners".

The bill, which has become a major test of unity for a coalition in power since 2015, passed in a late night vote with support from opposition lawmakers. The governing PiS party said its ultra-conservative and moderate allies had put their coalition in jeopardy by failing to back it.

The animal rights bill is popular with young Poles, and PiS hopes it will help expand its appeal in urban areas. Opponents within the coalition worry that it will alienate farmers and hurt them in the rural heartlands.

Poland produces millions of furs a year, and the sector employs about 50,000 people. The country is also one of Europe's biggest exporters of halal and kosher meat.

The PiS-led coalition held onto power in a general election last year, but has since shown signs of fragmenting. PiS has sought to redistribute cabinet posts in a reshuffle, but coalition talks were halted by the animal rights vote.

All lawmakers from the ultra-conservative United Poland party opposed the bill, and most lawmakers from Accord, the ruling camp's more moderate wing, abstained.

Adam Bielan, a member of the European Parliament from Accord, told the state news agency PAP that it was too early to abandon the coalition. "One has to wait until emotions calm down and come back to the negotiation table. An early election would lead to the Left taking power" - he added.