Poland may face an early general election or the Law and Justice (PiS) party may run the country in a minority cabinet, a government spokesman said, amid reports that the governing coalition has collapsed. 

"Every scenario is possible: both a minority government and early election," Piotr Muller told broadcaster Polsat News on Friday morning.

"One cannot afford for a situation that the United Right camp is being shaken all the time and the alternative is minority government or early election."

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PiS has governed Poland since 2015 with junior partners United Poland and the Agreement, in a coalition called the United Right.

A senior PiS official, Marek Suski, said on Friday: "The coalition at the moment does not exist... Our former coalition partners should be packing up their desks."

It was not immediately clear if the announcement of the coalition's collapse was final or political positioning. 

Ryszard Terlecki, PiS's leader in parliament, described the coalition as "practically non-existent." PiS leaders would meet Monday, Terlecki said, to discuss their further steps and that an early election could not be ruled out, if a minority government proved unable to pass legislation.

Growing tensions

The announcement followed a parliamentary rebellion from United Poland. Polish Justice Minister and leader of the junior party, Zbigniew Ziobro, led his members to vote against an animal welfare bill proposed by PiS's influential leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

The lower house of parliament approved provisions of the proposed bill that included the prohibition of breeding fur animals and limitations on ritual slaughter. Despite the rebellion, PiS managed to get the bill passed with the support of opposition lawmakers.

Suski confirmed that Kaczynski told the coalition's junior partners in a closed-door meeting before the vote that "the tail cannot wag the dog." Adding it was important not to accept cruelty to animals, adding "only good people should govern Poland."

Tensions have been building within the United Right for months.

Jaroslaw Gowin, the leader of the Agreement party, resigned from his position as deputy prime minister in April, in opposition to the government's plan to hold Poland's presidential election on schedule in May, despite the COVID-19 outbreak.

After much political wrangling, the election was ultimately postponed until the summer.

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