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Poland to hold early elections

  • Story Highlights
  • Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski expects early elections in autumn
  • His conservative party gave him green light Saturday to push for a snap vote
  • Elections being held in an attempt to end weeks of political turmoil
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WARSAW, Poland (Reuters) -- Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said he expected early elections in the autumn after his conservative party gave him the green light on Saturday to push for a snap vote to end weeks of political turmoil.

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Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski expects early elections in the autumn.

Early elections have been on the cards in the biggest ex-communist EU member after bitter fighting within the coalition formed by the ruling Kaczynski twins, a far-right party and a rural leftist faction.

"Elections could be on October 21," Kaczynski told a news conference. "In November at the latest."

Kaczynski and his brother Lech, the president, have presided over fast economic growth but also permanent political turmoil and squabbles with other European Union leaders.

Leaders from the Kaczynskis' Law and Justice party decided on Saturday to give their approval for an early ballot.

Poland tumbled into its latest political crisis one month ago when the prime minister fired the head of Self-Defense, a party popular in small towns and villages among Poles who feel left out by the boom elsewhere.

The head of the other party in the coalition, the nationalist and staunchly Catholic League of Polish Families, said earlier that Kaczynski had told him he planned to scrap the coalition within days.

The president gave his backing this week for early elections and opposition parties also want them. Parliament reconvenes on August 22 after its summer break and could decide then to dissolve itself ahead of new elections.

The president would not face re-election yet. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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