Polish party leader accuses Kaczyński of 'Bolshevik' behaviour

Kukiz argued that Friday's session in the lower house of parliament was broken off so that Kaczyński could receive the 'Man of the Year' award from conservative newspaper Gazeta Polska.

MPs then had to return to parliament after the award ceremony was over, and voting on the state budget finished at around 2.00 am on Saturday.

“Moving the voting is a scandal and [it amounts to] treating people in a Bolshevik way,” Kukiz argued.

“I can work from dawn to dawn, if there are good reasons, but not for the presentation of an award,” he said.

A number of parliamentary sessions have been held at night since the Law and Justice government was sworn in in November following the 25 October general election. Parliament passed several controversial bills in quick succession, leading to a probe being set in motion by the European Commission.

Poland's foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski has argued that the European Commission's fears are misplaced and that “democracy in Poland is not under threat.”

Kukiz's party Kukiz '15, currently the third largest party in the lower house of parliament, was tipped as a potential coalition partner of Law and Justice. However, the latter party ultimately won a landslide victory in the general election, enabling it to govern alone – the first time this has happened since the end of communism in 1989. (nh/pk)