The ruling Civic Platform doesn’t expect a compromise with the opposition over proposed, and controversial, changes to Poland’s Constitution.

The senior coalition Civic Platform is to present the details of the proposed changes in mid-December, deputy head of Civic Platform’s parliamentary party, Sławomir Nowak told Polskie Radio.

"It will be a platform for seeking a compromise - although after listening to politicians from the opposition parties I have less and less faith that we will be able to find such a compromise," Nowak said.

According to Nowak, the policy will be based on opinions of three former chairmen of the Constitutional Tribunal.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk first announced some of the radical changes to the way Poland is governed last weekend, including  concentration of executive power in the hands of the prime minister, electing the nation’s president by a National Assembly and decreasing the number of members of the two chambers of parliament – the Sejm and the Senate.

The role of the Constitutional Tribunal would increase, while the power of the presidential veto would be limited.

Mariusz Blaszczak of Law and Justice, the largest opposition party in parliament, said the only reason Donald Tusk wants to have the president chosen by an assembly is because he is “scared of not winning {next year‘s} presidential elections.”

Leader of the Democratic Alliance Grzegorz Napieralski, maintains that the desire to amend Poland’s Constitution are the result of the conflict between the government and President Lech Kaczynski, who has vetoed several of Civic Platform’s key legislation. He did not rule out participating in the debate on reforms but it “needs time”. (pg/di)