Poland's main opposition party proposes early vote

Poland's main opposition party on Friday proposed early elections as a way out of a spiralling government crisis brought on by scandals.

Civic Platform's leader said he would support the ruling Law and Justice party if it dismissed the leaders of its two junior coalition partners, in return for new elections in the spring.

Both coalition parties have been rocked by allegations of impropriety in the last week.

One scandal erupted Monday when Self-Defence party employee Aneta Krawczyk, alleged in a newspaper interview she had sex in 2001 with party chief Andrzej Lepper, who is now deputy prime minister, in exchange for a political job. To keep the job, she said she was then required to sleep with a legislator from the party, Stanislaw Lyzwinski, who she said fathered her daughter.

Both Lepper and Lyzwinski deny the allegations and have suggested that Krawczyk was put up to them by others, in an attempt to bring down the governing coalition, though they have not said who might be behind them.

Lyzwinski was slated to undergo a voluntary paternity test Friday, and chief prosecutor Janusz Kaczmarek said authorities continued to collect evidence and question witnesses in the case.

Another scandal emerged last week, when the Polish newspaper Dziennik published a home video allegedly showing supporters of the League of Polish Families party at a rally ritualistically burning a large swastika and chanting "sieg heil." An aide to a top party member has been dismissed after her picture from the rally was published, and prosecutors are investigating.

On Friday, leader of the opposition Civic Platform proposed a pact with the ruling Law and Justice party to hold early elections in the spring in return for Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski firing Lepper and the head of the League of Polish Families, Roman Giertych.

"For a joint commitment to early elections in the spring of 2007, the dismissal from the government of Lepper and Giertych is necessary," Tusk told a news conference. "The minority government and budget, if it doesn't hold unacceptable things, would have the support of Civic Platform until the elections."

Law and Justice leaders could not be immediately reached for comment, but the party scheduled a news conference for later Friday.

Source:cnews.canoe.ca