Internal disputes in the Ruda Slaska region threaten local elections for SLD

The preparation of election lists is always a period of great internal conflict and turmoil for political parties and the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) is no exception. In Ruda Slaska, two new political groups were created after the local structures of SLD were scattered. The former local SLD head for the Ruda Slaska region entered into a dispute with old party members, and was removed from the party ranks after he tried to establish his own election committee under a similar name to SLD. "The current quarrels are mostly the result of unsatisfied ambitions, but also reflect fear in the face of the electorate evaluating the short governance of the leftist coalition in the city," comments Grzegorz Tobiszowski, right wing candidate for mayor of Ruda Slaska. In Warsaw, SLD does not complain about a surplus of candidates but rather of their shortage. In effect, the SLD-UP coalition in local government elections will be represented in Warsaw by Marek Balicki, a non-partizan senator with his roots in the Solidarity camp, who, according to Gazeta Wyborcza, stands no chance in competition with Andrzej Olechowski and Lech Kaczynski. In fact, according to an anonymous SLD member interviewed by the paper, SLD's only representatives are second-rate political hopefuls. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 5) P.W.