Government wins confidence vote

This allows him to rule until at least till late spring 2005. The victory was not achieved without commotion as the vote became bound up with a heated debate over the confidential notes of the State Security Office (UOP) that suggest some kind of murky involvement of President Aleksander Kwaśniewski in the privatization of the oil sector. As a result, the opposition called for the vote to be postponed until Tuesday when more light would be shed on the issue. However the coalition managed to gather enough support to reject this appeal and the government received a green light with the majority of 234 votes. Marek Belka announced he will pursue his present policies, and in particular, the right to the Treasury Ministry's golden share which will give the government the final say in many crucial matters. (Parkiet, October 16-18, p.1; Rzeczpospolita, October 16-17, p. A1; Gazeta Wyborcza, October 16-17, p. 1) M.G.