29.09.2005
POLAND'S ELECTIONS:
Lech Kaczynski – The Head of the Capital Is Ready to Head the State
(32-34%)
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Simon Araloff, AIA European section
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| Lech Kaczynski (photo: PAP) |
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The twin brother of Jaroslav Kaczynski (the leader of the "Law and Justice" (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc - PiS) party that won in the last parliamentary elections on September, 25, 2005), he was born in Warsaw, on June, 18, 1949. He graduated from the Warsaw and Gdansk Universities, he has a Ph.D. in Jurisprudence (1976). He is married, has a daughter.
In December, 1981 Lech was thrown into penitentiary camp for participation in the work of the Strike Committee in Gdansk Shipyard and "Solidarity" movement.
At the end of the eighties, when the communist regime in Poland gave up its place to "Solidarity", Lech Kaczynski became the right hand of the leader of the movement, and subsequently of the first President of Poland, Lech Walesa. During this period Kaczynski occupied many high-ranking posts - from member of the Polish Parliament (Seim) and vice-chairman of the Solidarity trade union up to the leader of the centrist party Porozumienie Centrum (Center Agreement) and Security Minister in the Presidential Chancellery. From February, 1992, until May, 1995, he held the post of President of the Supreme Chamber of Control (Naczelna Izba Kontroli - NIK) and, at last, from June, 2000 until July, 2001 was the Minister of Justice and Attorney General in the government of Jerzy Buzek.
In 2001, shortly before the elections to the Sejm, the Kaczynski brothers declared of creation of their own right wing party – "Law and Justice" (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc - PiS). The party has shown quite a good result in the elections, having received 44 of 460 places in parliament (about 10 %). However, as a whole, the right block suffered a defeat. In 2002, Lech Kaczynski , who lost the ministerial portofolio, won the mayoral election in Warsaw. He still occupies this post today.
Jaroslav Kaczynski , a doctor of jurisprudence, is the leader of PiS (since 2003) and the head of its parliamentary faction.
In March, 2005, having correctly assessed the political situation (the disorder of the left bloc and growth of popularity of the right forces), Lech Kaczynski declared his intention to run for the presidency . His brother, Jaroslav, is believed to be considering the appointment of the PiS nominee, Kazimiezr Marcinkiewicz, to the post of Prime Minister and not to run himself, for he does not wish to reduce the chances of Lech winning the presidential campaign. In the opinion of many commentators, the people negatively see the idea that twin brothers will occupy the two key posts in Polish politics.
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| Lech Kaczynski supports preservation and development of Atlantic, pro-American and pro-NATO tendencies in the Polish politics (photo: PAP) |
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In the foreign policy sphere Lech Kaczynski supports the preservation and development of Atlantic, pro-American and pro-NATO tendencies in Polish politics. Thus, he sharply objects to the project of the European Constitution as it was offered to the countries of the EU for ratification. Polish patriotism does not allow him to agree to the creation of a certain "uniform European commonness" and, therefore, he insists on the federal division within the Union, granting considerable authority to national governments, including carrying out of an independent foreign policy. In this context, the candidate for the presidency from PiS attaches great importance to the development of cooperation within the framework of the "Visegrad Group" " that he sees as an important tool, not only for development of regional cooperation, but also for increasing Warsaw's authority in her dialogue with the leadership of the European Union. By the way, for the same reason, Lech Kaczynski supports the idea of Ukraine and Georgia entering the EU. After coming to power, he is going to attempt to achieve an official recognition of the V-4 forum by the leadership of the EU.
The extremely wary attitude of Lech Kaczynski towards Russia is well known. As he said, after his victory in the presidential elections he is going to engage closely in the decision of the problem of deliveries of Russian natural raw material and to try to find an alternative to it. "It is a strategic question, a question of public security", the candidate of PiS declared.
It was under his initiative that the City council of Warsaw accepted in March, 2005, the decision on renaming one of the squares of the Polish capital to the name of the former Chechen President, Johar Dudaev, who was killed by the Russians in 1995. The reaction of Moscow to this action of Warsaw's authority was sharply negative.
At the same time, the active contacts of Lech Kaczynski with Ukrainian politicians are also known. Before the last presidential elections in Ukraine, he met in Lvov with the leader of the Ukrainian People's Party (Ukrainska Narodna Partiya - UNP). "Law and Justice " also sent its observers to these elections. Even before the presidential elections in Poland, Kaczynski met with Vladislav Kaskiv, the personal adviser to the president of Ukraine, Yushchenko. By Kaskiv's words, Kaczynski has a strong pro-Ukrainian position and even expressed his readiness on state Polish TV to consider under his own initiative an opportunity of Poland's introduction to the GUAM geopolitical association (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) and the creation of joint programs with Ukraine.
Related items:
Daniel Podrzycki – The Road to Death of the Presidential Candidate (26.09.05)
The Winner is Confusion of the Voters (26.09.05)
Brief Information About the Participants (24.09.05)
Kaczynski Brothers: Movie Stars That Turned Politicians (23.09.05)
Jan Rokita: The Triumph of the Politician - Intellectual (22.09.05)
Warsaw Consolidates the Countries of Eastern and Central Europe (21.09.05)
On the Threshold of a Right-Centrist Revolution (03.09.05)
The Great Game for Poland (15.05.05)
ELECTIONS 2005
Poland
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