No Smolensk Secrets

Never-ending Story

On Tuesday in Kielce, Antoni Macierewicz, the head of the parliamentary group on the Smolensk plane crash, assured MPs that information about three persons, who survived the crash, is true. He mentioned three independent sources. On Saturday, in Rybnik, he stressed that the Prosecutor’s Office did not fulfill its duties and found nothing. What is more, he added that the Prosecutor’s Office did not interrogate any paramedics or doctors. Macierewicz has therefore filed an official complaint. On Saturday Prosecutor Mateusz Martyniuk, press spokesman for the General Prosecutor’s Office, said that there is no evidence that anybody survived the Smolensk crash. He highlighted the fact that evidence which was collected on the spot as well as later examinations, did not confirm such a theory.

What is more, Colonel Zbigniew Rzepa, press spokesman of the Chief Military Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed that material evidence, which was collected by the Military Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, indicates that nobody survived. Rzepa said that the Military Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw has yet again asked Macierewicz’s group to make their documents available to them, which they have not done. On Saturday, Macierewicz said that both he as well as the experts of the parliamentary group would share all information with the Prosecutor’s Office. On Friday, Leszek Miller, head of SLD, said that if Mr Macierewicz possesses this type of information, he is required by law to disclose it because he might know something important. So if these people survived, where can they be? Perhaps they have been kidnapped, perhaps they came to a sorry end, chided Miller.
Wirtualna  Polska

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Kaczyński – Pain & Hate

Former PM Criticises Kaczyński

“It’s not the same Jarosław Kaczyński that I once knew. This one seems to be boiling over with emotion, pain and hate,” according to former Law and Justice (PiS) Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz. Another former Prime Minister, Leszek Miller, one-time Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) member, believes Jarosław Kaczyński’s recent comments concerning newly-elected President Komorowski have demostrated his ”cold calculating politicking”. Kaczyński said President Komorowski won the election because of a “mistake” and Komorowski’s victory was a “direct consequence of the death of my brother”.
Wirtualna Polska

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The Trouble With Palikot

Has He Gone Too Far?

Janusz Palikot may have take a step too far. The PO (Civic Platform) politician may soon have to find a new party after his own party members decided to hold him accountable for the tasteless remarks he made about President Lech Kaczyński. The PO authorities will now decide whether or not Palikot should remain a member of their party. Filip Kaczmarek, a fellow PO member, has formally requested that Palikot be removed from Civic Platform after Palikot publicly called for an investigation to be undertaken as to whether Lech Kaczyński was under the influence of alcohol when he boarded the doomed Tupolev TU-154 flight that crashed in Smolensk. What is more, Palikot recently shocked members of Law and Justice (PiS) by stating that Przemysław Gosiewski (who also died in the Smolensk tragedy) is alive and well and was seen at a railway station fighting with some Russians who kidnapped him and are hiding him in Russia. Palikot has demanded that his remains be exhumed to check whether he in fact did die in Smolensk.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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If We Don’t Land, I’m Dead

New Evidence in Smolensk Disaster

The 24-hour TV station TVN24 claims that it has got its hands on a new transcript of the final words of the crew of the doomed Tupolev TU-154 which crashed near Smolensk on April 10th 2010 killing the Polish President, his wife and 94 other passengers. According to TVN24, at 8:38 the pilot of the aircraft, Arkadiusz Protasiuk, says, “If we don’t land, he’ll kill me”. At approximately the same time another unidentified member of the cabin crew says, “He’ll get annoyed, if we don’t… [unidentified word]“.

New Evidence, New Transcript

This casts a shadow over supporters of Lech Kaczyński who were convinced the President would never pressure the pilot into landing under such poor weather conditions.  TVN24 has not yet revealed its sources. By a happy coincidence, the TVN24 announcement comes the very same day that Jarosław Kaczyński decided to do away with his ‘mild manner’ (put to use so effectively in his failed presidential campaign) and is now strongly criticising the government for the way it handled the Smolensk tragedy and the death of his brother.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Kaczyński’s Popularity On The Rise

Happy At Last

Bronislaw Komorowski is still in the lead but the margin of his potential victory is steadily declining as Jaroslaw Kaczyński  refuses to let up. If the presidential elections were to be held at the beginning of June, Komorowski would emerge victorious with a fairly comfortable lead of 50% of votes to Kaczyński’s 38% in the first round. If a second round were necessary, Komorowski would also win – 58% to Kaczyński’s 42%. The support for the Civic Platform (PO) candidate has been steady over the past month, at 50%, while Kaczyński’s has gone up 5%, from 30% in May. Second round estimates also show Komorowski as the leader but Kaczyński is clearly gaining on his political adversary.

It is apparent that the majority of Poles have decided that in the race for the presidency only Komorowski and Kaczyński are worthy of their vote: the two main contenders can count on the support of nearly 90% of the population. Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) candidate Napieralski can expect a mere 5% while others, including Olechowski, a maximum of 2% each. In round 2, Komorowski is likely to receive all the votes of Olechowski and Napieralski while Kaczyński can expect to receive the backing of those who favour Marek Jurek, Korwin-Mikke and Ziętek. According to sociologists, the above results show that in spite of the exhausting influence of the Smoleńsk tragedy and the flood the campaign is dynamic and that anything is possible: both Komorowski’s first-round victory and Kaczyński’s continuing upward trend may ultimately result in his surpassing his opponent and pulling off a last-minute upset. Kaczyński’s gaining in the polls is attributed to the fact that he has been very active recently and seems to have a clearly-defined vision for Poland while Komorowski does not. The PO camp is nonetheless confident that their candidate will maintain his lead and prove his mettle when it counts the most – during the election itself.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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We Believe In Wałęsa

Faith in Wałęsa

Polish people are finally beginning to appreciate what happened in 1989. In 2004 most Poles believed that the political transformation had done more harm than good for the country.  Now Polish people no longer feel that way. With the 30th anniversary of Solidarity fast-approaching, CBOS and the European Solidarity Centre recently conducted a survey on the way Poles feel about 1989 and which opposition leaders are now seen as authority figures. In the ‘authority figure’ category Lech Wałęsa was the unanimous winner and received 47% of the votes. The survey confirms research CBOS had completed earlier concerning the politicians that Polish people trust the most (in which Wałęsa regularly tops the list). Second place belongs to Jacek Kuroń while the first non-Communist prime minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki came in third. Lech Kaczyński received a mere 2%.

38% of those polled are certain that communism in the entire Eastern bloc would not have come to an end if it had not been for the political upheaval in Poland while 44% believe that the events in Poland accelerated the death of communism. Since the early 1990s, most Poles considered the political transformation beneficial for the country’s well being, currently 83% believe this to be the case. When asked: “Did you gain or lose more from the system change?” about half replied that they neither lost or gained anything while 24% proclaimed themselves “winners”. Which social groups benefited, which didn’t? The following clearly profited: entrepreneurs, politicians and the wealthy, those who take the initiative and the well-educated. The lives of pensioners and the poorly-educated seemed to have changed for the worse. Why is it that a huge majority accept the change of the political system while fewer praise the effects of the transformation? A sociologist explains that “many people are slightly disappointed with the fact that their lives have not turned out to be as happy and successful as they expected, the Poland of today is a far cry from the country they were fighting for”.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Turning In Their Graves

Kuba Wojewódzki and Michał Figurski have both shocked and amused thousands of radio listeners and YouTube viewers with their latest shenanigans. Live on EskaRock radio, rapping to the tune of Dr Dre’s “Still”, Figurski and Wojewódzki launched into a full frontal attack on Law and Justice (PiS) presidential candidate Jarosław Kaczyński. Wojewódzki’s and Figurski’s song, entitled, “Po Trupach Do Celu” (literally, ‘to trample over corpses in order to get what one wants’) begins with Wojewódzki rapping, “Be afraid Poles, the (Kaczyński) Fourth Republic is returning”. We hear him later singing, “Jarek, Jarek, has lots of friends and every one of them wants to be buried at Wawel”.  The song has led to Coca-Cola pulling out of their sponsorship deal with Wojewódzki and Figurski. What is more, Magdalena Bajer, head of the Media Ethics Commission has called the song disgraceful and feels it goes well beyond the ethical line that journalists should not cross. However, the head of EskaRock Bogusław Potoniec does not believe the song was over the top. Listen for yourselves:

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Polish Presidential Poll

Komorowski & Kaczyński Go Head-to-Head

According to the latest opinion poll, commissioned by Gazeta Wyborcza, on the upcoming Polish presidential elections, Civic Platform (PO) candidate, Speaker of the House and Acting President Bronisław Komorowski would win with 52% of the votes. The Law and Justice (PiS) opposition candidate Jarosław Kaczyński can expect a meagre 27% according to the poll. The Democratic Party (SD) candidate Andrzej Olechowski, in third place, manages a puny 7%. Deputy Prime Minister  Waldemar Pawlak of the Polish Peasant Party (PSL)  would obtain 5% and Grzegorz Napieralski of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) would only muster a poor 3%. Should the presidential elections, set to take place on June 20th, mirror these polled results there will not be a second round of votes. However, Gazeta Wyborcza also conducted an opinion poll on a possible second (knock-out) round of presidential elections. Bronisław Komorowski would gain 67%, Jarosław Kaczyński 33%.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Jarosław Kaczyński Has Decided

Twin For President?

“The general feeling in Law and Justice (PiS) is that Jarosław Kaczyński, identical twin brother of the late Lech Kaczyński who died in the tragic air crash over Smolensk should run for President. He is a hard man and only he knows what he will do in the race for the Presidency,” said PiS MEP Jacek Kurski live on air on RMF FM. Kurski added, “the general feeling in the PiS camp and amongst those who survived the tragic Smolensk air crash is that Jarosław Kaczyński should be the PiS candidate for President. He already knows what he’s going to do. But it’s clear that we have to continue with the fight, in honour of those who died”. Kurski also stated that, “the Lech Kaczyński myth will be to Poland’s advantage in the years to come. His brother must decide if his candidacy will augment or erode this myth”.
RMF FM

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Kaczyński Funeral in Kraków

Poland Bids Farewell

On this day, the 18th April, in 1025 Bolesław I the Brave was crowned in the former capital of Poland, Gniezno. On the 18th April 2007, UEFA took the historic decision to award the 2012 European Championships to Poland and Ukraine. Tthe 18th April 2010 witnesses the funeral of President Lech Aleksander Kaczyński together with his wife Maria at Wawel Castle, Kraków. Already this morning, thousands of people have lined the streets patiently waiting for the funeral procession that will take in many of Kraków’s historic streets. The funeral procession will begin at St. Mary’s Basilica, Kraków where the coffins of the President and his wife now lie and will then wind its way through Kraków, along the Royal Road and to Wawel Castle where the President and the First Lady will be buried.
Wirtualna Polska

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