Lepper offers opinions on education, capital punishment and abortion

Farmers' leader Andrzej Lepper has promised an audience of Warsaw secondary school students that if his Samoobrona party wins the elections there will be no matriculation exams at all. Lepper was responding to criticism of the new matriculation exams, to be introduced this year. Also taking part in the debate were members of the election committees of Law and Justice (PiS), the Union of Real Politics (UPR), and Civic Platform (PO). Although the debate was dominated by educational matters, Lepper also found time to comment on capital punishment. Supporting the idea that the death penalty should be reintroduced in Poland, he said, "Capital punishment for criminals? We are definitely in favor, even without judgement!" On the issue of abortion, he said, "In communist Poland abortion was legal and children were born. Today it is banned and there are fewer children. Why? Because there is one gynecologist who provides the bloodless removal of children. His name is Leszek Balcerowicz." (Zycie, p. 6) A.Z.