PiS maneuvers to dump Andrzej Lepper

Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and senior Law and Justice politicians are rumored to be preparing for a minority government without Self-Defense, as the Prime Minister believes Andrzej Lepper may soon become more directly implicated in the sex-for-jobs scandal, not least over the fatherhood of Aneta Krawczyk's youngest child and possibly face formal charges of sexual harassment, senior sources in the government say. If so, there are two possible scenarios: Either Lepper is dismissed from the government with Self-Defense joining the opposition; the Prime Minister could then attempt to woo individual Self-Defense deputies to back him. Or, Lepper may be persuaded to guarantee Self-Defense's continued support for the government.This would leave him in some control over government affairs and open up the possibility of returning to the cabinet once allegations against him are proven false. In the latter case, Janusz Maksymiuk, Lepper's closest adviser, would replace him as deputy prime minister and minister of agriculture. If Self-Defense joins the opposition, these posts would be assumed by Artur Balazs, a veteran politician and architect of the rapprochement between Law and Justice and Self-Defense. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1) R.M.