AWS desperation deepens as Grabowski withdraws candidacy for premier

Boguslaw Grabowski, Solidarity Election Action (AWS) candidate for prime minister, has withdrawn his candidacy and plunged the coalition into another wave of confusion. Since his nomination by AWS leader Marian Krzaklewski last Friday, Grabowski had remained oblivious to the media until he dispatched a statement to the Polish Press Agency (PAP) yesterday. It read, "After pondering the tumultuous atmosphere that has engulfed the coalition, I am left with no alternative but to withdraw my candidacy." The junior coalition partner Freedom Union (UW) asserts that the decision of Grabowski serves as confirmation of AWS's policy ambiguity. In addition, UW claims the change of premier was not an end but a means to help the government push through vital reforms which were long overdue. Within AWS, an unofficial debate has begun on who should takeover as premier, Krzaklewski or Sejm speaker Marciej Plazynski. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 1) S.M.