"Moral rebirth" in Brussels?
By Aleksander Nowacki
Politicians took time out last week from tampering with acts of parliament and taking bribes (as 60 percent of Poles believe they are wont to do), and explored other avenues into the comedy Hall of Fame.
Józef Oleksy, deputy for the Left Democratic Alliance (SLD) and head of the EU parliamentary commission, in charge of his party's Europarliament campaign, said that the SLD list could be headed by figures such as Mieczysław F. Rakowski. Rakowski was the last leader of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and was also prime minister at the time of the previous system collapse. Since that historic tragedy, Rakowski has apparently been an influential behind-the-scenes SLD figure, best known for his repeated calls to "rebuild the moral and ideological integrity of the left." It is increasingly likely that he will now have the opportunity to take his "moral rebirth" campaign to Brussels.
The big advantage of Rakowski's candidacy is his ability to deliver his sermons in several languages. Samoobrona leader Andrzej Lepper has been calling for simultaneous Polish translation of the Europarliament's proceedings, as "our candidates are linguistically incompetent." It is worth noting that at least some SLD hopefuls are taking a more ambitious approach. One deputy, Zofia Grzebisz-Nowicka of Kielce, is even known to have taken up English lessons.
But the European parliamentary election in this country is not the only thing threatening to challenge the California recall vote for the number of bad jokes it generates. According to the latest poll, Jolanta Kwaśniewska is the nation's favorite to replace her husband as the country's president. She enjoys the support of 34 percent of the electorate - more than four times that of the runner-up, Andrzej Lepper.
Former president Lech Wałęsa declined to comment on the First Lady's prospects of an electoral triumph, beyond calling her candidacy "a joke." He remarked that he, by contrast, is "a serious politician." The hilarity that his words evoked was matched only by the suggestion that Kwaśniewska would increase her chances for success by running for a New York post in the Senate. It was presumably with this end in view that her husband declared two years ago, "We are all New Yorkers".
Relocating to the Big Apple might be a good idea, as Europe doesn't seem to be inviting enough. The draft of the European constitution envisages a substantial reduction in this country's voting powers. "We will fight for Nice," said foreign minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, referring to the treaty that gave Poland nearly as many votes as those held by the largest EU countries. His remark is seen as an indication of improved relations with the French, who, in 1939 "didn't want to fight for Gdańsk." It seems Cimoszewicz for one has forgiven their past sins.
