Cimoszewicz mounts a comeback

The scandal surrounding Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz and the alleged alteration of his income statement seem not to have permanently dented the candidate's chances of  winning October's presidential elections. The accusation by Cimoszewicz's former assistant that she deleted the sale of shares in oil conglomerate PKN Orlen from his income statement in 2002 precipitated a dramatic fall in the polls that saw his competitor, Civic Platform's (PO) Donald Tusk, nab the lead for nearly two weeks.

However, the latest survey conducted by polling agency TNS OBOP shows the SLD's Cimoszewicz back in the lead, with 26-percent support. He is followed by Tusk at 23 percent and Law and Justice's (PiS) Lech Kaczyński with 21 percent. Self-Defense (SO) candidate Andrzej Lepper continues to lose support, and looks to be a long-shot for the office, with just nine percent support. The poll was conducted August 4-8 on a sample of 948 people. The race between the top three remains tight, however. An IPSOS poll released a day earlier and conducted with a sample of 958 on August 4-9, showed Tusk and Kaczyński tied at the top with 24 percent each, followed by Cimoszewicz at 19 percent.