Pologne : l'un des frères Kaczynski tire sa révérence

La formation du nouveau gouvernement polonais est autant affaire de relations familiales que de politique, écrit Wojciech Kosc dans Transitions Online.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s sudden withdrawal from consideration as prime minister has underlined the awkwardness of Polish politics today.

The Law and Justice Party (PiS) received nearly 27 percent of the vote in the 25 September elections. But its leader, the charismatic Kaczynski, announced on 27 September that he would not seek to be prime minister, proposing instead an obscure backbencher, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz.

Kaczynski’s change of heart was likely a stratagem to avoid foiling twin brother Lech’s bid for the presidency on 9 October.

Center, right, nowhere

After the elections, PiS soon sat down to talk coalition with the liberal Civic Platform (PO), which came second with 24 percent of the vote. In spite of wide ideological difference, the PO is still seen as Law and Justice’s most likely coalition partner. However, on 29 September the parties then adjourned talks until after the presidential elections have been decided.

The talks were filled with mutual mistrust. Law and Justice’s unexpected move to name Marcinkiewicz, rather than party leader Kaczynski, as its candidate for prime minister took Civic Platform by surprise. PO leaders expressed their doubts about the real meaning of Marcinkiewcz’s nomination. “Is Marcinkiewicz a premier for four years or four weeks?” PO’s leader and presidential candidate Donald Tusk asked, suggesting that Kaczynski had withdrawn to aid his brother’s bid for the presidency. The first round of presidential voting will take place on 9 October, followed by second round on 23 October provided no candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the votes. 

According to Tusk, Poles are unwilling to see the Kaczynskis simultaneously taking the two highest political posts in the land. This explains Jaroslaw’s maneuver, because Marcinkiewicz “would be controlled by the Kaczynskis from the ‘back seat’ anyway.”

Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s explanation for his withdrawal was that “Marcinkiewicz is the prime ministerial candidate who guarantees the fastest formation of a government.”

To read the article in full, visit the Transitions Online website.