Amid more resignations, candidates tipped as possible new Finance Minister

Two Deputy Finance Ministers, Andrzej Raczko in charge of public debt and Jacek Bartkiewicz, supervising banking and industry sectors tendered their resignation after the surprise departure of Finance Minister Marek Belka on Tuesday. A government source earlier said that Irena Ozog, Deputy Finance Minister in charge of taxes, had also offered to resign but had been persuaded to stay. It is unclear whether the resignations were a gesture of loyalty towards Belka, nor was it apparent that the two resignations would be formally accepted, which is required for them to take effect. No successor to the Finance Minister has been named so far, but among the possible candidates mentioned are: Labor Minister Jerzy Hausner, Chief of the Cabinet Office Marek Wagner, former finance minister Grzegorz Kolodko and Miller's economic policy adviser Andrzej Sopocko. Labor Minister Hausner, 52, could be the front-runner after being endorsed by both Belka and Miller's influential cabinet chief, Marek Wagner. "Mr Hausner is in the government and is a person who could master the job," Wagner told reporters in parliament. Financial markets have steadied after sharp falls in the wake of Belka's resignation, "The key issue for the new Finance Minister is to assure markets of the Cabinet's resolve to keep spending in check," said Jacek Wisniewski, an analyst with Pekao SA. Other dealers said markets would remain volatile until a successor was named. Prime Minister Miller said he would name a new minister by the end of the week (Reuters)