Business says "NO' to Belka

According to Sejm Speaker Józef Oleksy June 24 is the most probable date that the vote confidence in Marek Belka's government will be held. Oleksy argues that the change is due to the fact that some of the Sejm deputies are about to leave to take up their seats as Euro MP's and the parties need some time to fill the vacancies. the election were also to help to clear up whether Polish Social Democracy (SDPL) and the Polish Peasants Party (PSL) would support Belka or not, but they failed to do so. Now once again Belka is fighting to win support. His first move was to bow to the SDPL's demand that the government would agree to face another vote of confidence at the beginning of October after the budget for 2005 is presented. The SDPL is still considering whether to accept the offer or not. More bad news came for Belka on the front page of today's Puls Biznesu whose main headline was "No to Belka". According to a poll published by the daily, 78% of business leaders are in favor of calling a general election to solve the political impasse. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 4; Rzeczpospolita, p. A3; Puls Biznesu, p. 1) A.F