WARSAW: Poland’s liberal Civic Platform party said on Friday it would form a ruling coalition with a conservative ally even if it won enough votes to secure a parliamentary majority on its own in the Sept. 25 election.

The latest opinion poll, by GFK Polonia, showed support for the pro-reform Civic Platform at 42 per cent, which puts it on the verge of a majority in parliament under Poland’s electoral system which favours larger parties.

It is followed by right-wing ally Law and Justice, at 24 per cent, taking their combined support to above the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to change the constitution of the biggest new European Union member and push through reforms.

“We need a coalition because even if the Platform manages to win the elections and gain a majority in parliament, it would be .... with only just above 50 per cent of deputies,” Grzegorz Schetyna, secretary-general of the Platform, told public radio.

“If we want to implement serious reforms, if we want to seriously change the state, we will need a solid partner in parliament and a majority which allows us to govern not just for the first months but for the whole four years.”

The two parties have pledged to stamp out corruption, cut taxes and labour costs to create new jobs, and tighten fiscal policy.

Support for Poland’s leftist parties has crumbled following a wave of scandals.

Platform leader Donald Tusk and Law and Justice’s Lech Kaczynski are the two top presidential candidates, with the increasingly aggressive campaign between them threatening to drive apart parties that seek to rule together.—Reuters