Editor's note: Taming Lepper

This is the price that Law and Justice (PiS) will probably pay for a coalition with Self-defense.

Lepper may have changed since his emergence on the political scene but these are only external changes. He looks better and he is talking less aggressively; to put it briefly - he got more civilized. One must not forget that this man has been convicted for different offenses. This is a man who has been offending almost everyone for years - starting from his favorite target, the president of the National Bank of Poland and the author of economic reforms in Poland, Leszek Balcerowicz, through to the former President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski and the Kaczyński brothers.

This is a man who in 1994 was responsible for the public whipping and shaving of a farm receiver and organized road blockades. Lepper was against Poland joining the EU and criticized all the changes introduced in Poland after 1989. The list of his political offenses is long and this is especially pertinent, given that he is entering a coalition with PiS, a party that has repeatedly announced that it wants a moral renewal of Poland, the rule of law and order and, most importantly, justice.

But is it just for a man convicted of civil offenses to co-govern the country? As political reality proves, justice is very relative. Although so far the government hasn't found it fit for criminals to be included in the government, it changed its mind especially for its new partner. In the PiS-Self-defense coalition agreement an evasive provision was included that it only excludes working with people convicted for criminal offenses, while Lepper's offenses fall under the civil code.

Lepper's presence in the government doesn't bode well for the quality of political life nor for the economy. His anti-market ideas can be dangerous, they can also exert a negative influence on Poland's image abroad. We can only hope that after Lepper joins the government, Finance Minister Zyta Gilowska is not going to leave it. She is a strong brand, which should be able to cancel out the anti-market attempts of Self-defense. Let's hope and pray.