POLAND: Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski sacks his deputy and main coalition partner Andrzej Lepper raising the prospect of early elections

Poland is heading towards early elections, after Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski fired his deputy and main coalition partner over a corruption investigation. But Andrzej Lepper, head of the Self-Defence party who also served as Agriculture Minister, has denied any wrongdoing. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski sacked his deputy and main coalition partner on Monday (July 9), raising the prospect of early elections after just two years in power. Kaczynski said he dismissed Andrzej Lepper, leader of the rural Self-Defence party, over an inquiry into corruption at the Agriculture Ministry Lepper headed until his dismissal. "It is not politically comfortable; you could say it is the opposite. It is a very politically uncomfortable. But rules are rules," Kaczynski said. Lepper denied any wrongdoing. "I was the Deputy Prime Minister. Let the Prime Minister have the courage and tell the CBA to show the recorded conversations. Let everybody hear that Lepper is arranging bribes. Let them show the so-called transaction when somebody passes on money," he said. The Deputy Prime Minister's party rallied behind him, deciding to leave the government. Lepper said early elections were a likely scenario. "It is definitely the end of the coalition, there is no question about it, it is the end of the coalition. I am saying that I will definitely not come back to this government," Lepper said. Kaczynski said he dismissed Lepper to show his government was sticking to a pledge to root out sleaze. "Regarding details of the matter most interesting for you, they will be unveiled with time. I can say now that we are talking about a very big bribe, counted in millions of Zloty," Kaczynski said. The Prime Minister called on Lepper's party to stay in the coalition despite its leader's exit, but said he was prepared to face the electorate in mid-term if his government lost its majority. Opinion polls showed his party just behind the main opposition grouping, the Civic Platform, but political analysts say Kaczynski's well-oiled party machine could forge ahead in an aggressive election campaign. Since its formation in 2005, Kaczynski's coalition with Self-Defence and a smaller nationalist party has lurched from crisis to crisis over issues ranging from fiscal discipline to abortion. The second biggest opposition party, the Democratic Left Alliance, said it would seek a vote of no confidence in the government to force a snap poll.

ITN Source | July 10, 2007

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