Ruling party leader confirms new coalition agreement

Poland's ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) has signed a political agreement with OdNowa RP, an offshoot of former coalition partner Agreement, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has announced.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Kaczynski said PiS and OdNowa RP will "support the current government in a single parliamentary caucus" and will run with PiS in the next parliamentary elections.

Kaczynski said the signing of the deal "finally concludes certain difficult moments" in the United Right, referring to the ruling camp's struggle to regain a fragile majority in the lower house of parliament after losing Agreement.

Agreement, a former ally in the United Right coalition, left the ruling bloc in August but suffered from a spate of defections which has now spawned OdNowa RP and the Republican Party, both loyal to PiS.

Owing to the split, Agreement was left with just one-third of its MPs compared to what it had after the 2019 parliamentary election.

Speaking about the new deal, Kaczynski also said PiS and OdNowa RP had similar policy goals. "OdNowa has its own agenda, but it generally fits within our great plan of rebuilding Poland."

Kaczynski added that the deal also included plans for a single candidate for a Warsaw mayor, but refused to reveal the candidate's name.

The current mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, a staunch opponent of PiS, will end his term in office in 2022.