Race for Polish presidency heats up
Three months before the presidential elections in Poland, the campaign has been given a kick-start with the announcement by the speaker of Parliament that he's joining the race and that Poland's current First Lady will be his campaign chief.
The fifty-four year old Speaker of Parliament Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz has a Ph.D. in law from Warsaw University and extensive political experience. He previously served as prime minister, justice minister and foreign minister. Even though formally he's running as an independent candidate, he remains closely allied to the Democratic Left Alliance SLD of former communists. In fact the SLD wanted him to be its candidate many months ago but Cimoszewicz kept on refusing, saying that he wanted to leave politics altogether. When I asked him what made him change his mind, he spoke with much concern about the quality of Poland's political life.
'The present situation in Poland, characterized by the growing conflict tensions, disputes, quarrels between politicians, who are not able to think about the future, about a great chance which we share after joining the European Union.'
If Cimoszewicz's 'Yes' was expected by many people, his decision to choose Poland's First Lady Jolanta Kwasniewska, who has spent the last ten years in the presidential palace at the side of her husband Aleksander, as his campaign guru took most people by surprise. According to political analyst Robert Strybel, Cimoszewicz wants to emphasize the idea of continuity.
'He says: look Poles, for 10 years Kwasniewski has been there. He has been even-handed, he hasn't got involved in mud slinging. If Cimosziewicz thinks that Kwasniewska, his wife is a symbol, the first lady is a symbol of that presidency, then he's banking on the fact that Poles want more of the stability, they're sick of the mud slinging.'
Since announcing his decision, Cimoszewicz has stormed opinion polls, racing ahead of the Warsaw Mayor and Poland's top heart surgeon, who'd been so far tipped as favourites. Matthew Day of Poland Monthly described Cimoszewicz as a life-saver for the left, engulfed in many corruption scandals.
'He could muster a decent campaign. He's one of the few candidates from the left. He's untainted and also he's got a sort of presidential aspect to himself. He speaks English, he has mannerisms of a president. I think, in some ways, you know, Poles who want that when they actually come to vote. Of course, by choosing the president's wife as the campaign director, could create a few problems for him because Kwasniewska herself is now entangled in one of the big corruption scandals in Poland and her star has fallen somewhat.'
Two weeks ago Jolanta Kwasniewska testified before a parliamentary committee investigating an alleged bribery scandal concerning Poland's top oil group PKN Orlen. She was questioned about the funding of her charity, and her contacts with businessmen suspected of trying to influence privatisations. Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz sees his presidential bid as a mission at a time when Poland has to solve many domestic problems and face the challenges stemming from the crisis in the EU.
'We've got an unprecedented chance to make a real jump in terms of changing our country, changing our economy and our society. We simply have, at our disposal, much bigger resources than ever. The problem is, if we are able as a nation, to define what is most important for us, and then to be very consequent in implementing that kind of, say, basic plan. If we are able to do so, we can follow the example of Ireland and in a relatively short time, let's say of 10-15 years, to reach a much, much higher level of development guaranteeing our people a better life. And finally solving those dramatic social problems that still exist in Poland.'
Presidential contender Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz. Most Polish analysts predict a neck-and-neck race between Cimoszewicz and the right wing candidate, Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczyzski.
