Lepper escapes charges
Despite rumors to the contrary, Poland's chief prosecutor, Janusz Kaczmarek, will not ask for Deputy Prime Minister Andrzej Lepper's parliamentary immunity to be lifted, in order to bring charges against him in relation to accusations that he and a close party official offered female assistants jobs in return for sex.
"There are no grounds to lay charges against Mr Lepper and to seek to strip him of immunity," Kaczmarek told TVN24. Lepper has repeatedly denied all the charges. After the scandal broke, Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński said that he would sack Lepper if he was charged by prosecutors.
A key witness in the case said last month that she had had sex with both men. After DNA tests excluded the possibility that Self-defense member Stanisław Łyżwinski was the father of her child, her lawyer said Lepper too should undergo a DNA test. Citing a government source, the Rzeczpospolita newspaper said earlier that Lepper could indeed be asked to take a fatherhood test in connection with the investigation.
However, Lepper's deputy, Janusz Maksymiuk, brushed all that aside, saying: "These reports are completely groundless."
Rzeczpospolita reported that the Prime Minister met with key cabinet members and party leaders on Thursday to discuss possible moves the government could take if Lepper were charged.
One possible scenario included removing the Self-defense party from the coalition altogether, and continuing as a minority government. Another envisioned keeping Self-defense in the coalition, but under Maksymiuk's leadership, leaving the door open for Lepper to re-enter the government if he were cleared of the allegations.
Since coming to power, the Prime Minister's party, Law and Justice (PiS), has had a rocky relationship with Self-defense and its other coalition partner, the League of Polish Families. The coalition has been plagued by infighting and the constant threat of fresh elections.
In September, Lepper briefly left the government over disagreements about the 2007 budget, and last week PiS was only able to get its nominee for president of the central bank, Sławomir Skrzypek, approved after making large concessions to its coalition partners. (Reuters)
