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Poland Worried About Twins in Government
- Many Poles are concerned about the fact that the Kaczynski twins are now in charge of the country's most important political positions, according to a poll by PBS DGA published in Gazeta Wyborcza. 60 per cent of respondents believe the situation will be negative for Poland.
In September 2005, voters in Poland renewed their legislative branch. Final results gave the Law and Justice Party (PiS) 26.9 per cent of the vote and 155 lawmakers in the 460-seat lower house. Economic expert Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz took over as prime minister in October, and Lech Kaczynski won the presidential election.
On Jul. 8, deputy prime minister Andrzej Lepper of the Self-Defence of the Polish Republic (SRP) announced that Marcinkiewicz would resign after he made some decisions without consulting his coalition partners. Marcinkiewicz is expected to become a candidate in Warsaw's mayoral race later this year.
Yesterday, Polish president Lech Kaczynski appointed PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski as the country's new prime minister. Jaroslaw, who has two weeks to form a government, declared, "The work of the Cabinet that I hope will be formed within the next few days will concentrate on everything aiming to fix the state. This goal is in essence our only goal. Poland needs fixing, it needs deep rebuilding."
Last year, Jaroslaw had vowed not to become head of government if his brother won the presidential election.
Polling Data
Do you think having twin brothers as president and prime minister will be positive or negative for Poland?
Positive | 12% |
Negative | 60% |
No difference | 28% |
Source: PBS DGA / Gazeta Wyborcza
Methodology: Interviews with 1,000 Polish adults, conducted on Jul. 8, 2006. Margin of error is 3.2 per cent.