Opinion poll shows ex-communist party's popularity slipped in March

Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), Poland's opposition ex-communist party, saw a decline in popularity ahead of a general election due around September, according to an opinion poll by research firm PBS published on Monday. The poll, conducted from March 24-25 for the daily Rzeczpospolita, showed SLD could still rule alone, though its backing shrank to 43% in late March from a 54% record high two weeks earlier. It also indicated that support for Solidarity Election Action (AWS), which leads the minority government, increased to 17% from 12%. Political observers say the drop in SLD's following could be attributed to a recent debate in parliament about an organization that had tried to battle communist leaders imposed by the Soviet Union after World War II. The SLD expressed opposition to a parliamentary resolution paying tribute to the Freedom and Independence Movement (WiN) and some ex-communists blamed WiN members for killing innocent people. "Those [SLD members'] speeches...reminded, especially older voters, about the SLD's historic roots," said the head of the private Public Affairs Institute think-tank, Lena Kolarska-Bobinska. The poll also showed the recently created, centrist Civic Platform (OP) was backed by 17% of voters in March. (Reuters)