New friends
Former Prime Minister Leszek Miller will run for a seat in Poland's lower house of parliament - the Sejm - in the first position on Self-defense's (SO) party list in Łód. Miller, a former member of the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) party, decided to switch teams after SLD refused to recommend him for the election list of the Left and Democrats (LiD) coalition, to which SLD belongs.
Although recent polls show his support among Poles stands at a mere four percent, Miller says he does not want to retire from politics yet.
"Self-defense gave me the opportunity to run for the elections, which my former colleagues and friends from SLD would not give me," he said. However he declared that he would not join SO, led by former deputy Prime Minister and pig farmer Andrzej Lepper, but would set up his own under the name of Polska Lewica (Polish Left).
Still, Miller's political fortunes depend on Self-defense's success. But the dependence is mutual. Lepper's party, whose chances to enter parliament look bleak, is counting on traditionally strong support for Miller in Łód. In 2001, Miller gained as many as 146,000 votes there. Miller's campaign may be a tough one though, since he will be battling SLD leader Wojciech Olejniczak for Łód's electorate.
Miller may not be the only ex-Prime Minister from SLD to run with Self-defense. Lepper recently suggested that his party will also invite Józef Oleksy to run on the party's list.
"We were and we are holding talks with Józef Oleksy," Lepper said on TOK FM radio.
