PM suspends Zalewski for criticizing the foreign minister

Zalewski is not only the chairperson of the Sejm foreign affairs committee, but was also the deputy president of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. Zalewski now faces disciplinary action before the party's court. The PM's decision is a reaction to Zalewski's comments on Tuesday on Tok FM radio, in which he complained that his committee had failed to wring out any meaningful statement from Minister Fotyga, at a hearing last week, about just what the government really achieved during last month's summit in Brussels. His words were interpreted by PiS as an attack not just on Fotyga but also on the PM and President, who hailed the success of the Polish delegation. Senior PiS members yesterday morning expressed dismay at the comments which they saw as disloyal and incomprehensible. "It is unthinkable for the deputy chairperson of the party to question the competence of the foreign minister, especially as it comes just days head of President Kaczyński's visit to the US for crucial talks on the anti-missile defense system," said Marek Kuchcinski, PiS' parliament ary leader. Zalewski denied he had been disloyal and said loyalty also entailed drawing attention to problems. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1, A4; Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1, 3; Dziennik, p. 1, 4) R.M.