President's nowhere man
President Aleksander Kwaniewski has rallied behind his hand-picked candidate for successor.
Kwaniewski's support for Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz comes as the Sejm speaker struggles to remain in the race.
Cimoszewicz, a moderate leftist, has slipped from first to third in opinion surveys over the last six weeks after an error was found in his declaration of assets and hurt his cherished image spotless.
Voters are angry at Cimoszewiczs' ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) party for numerous sleaze scandals and failure to significantly curb unemployment. Cimoszewicz admits he made what he called "honest mistakes" in his declarations, such as forgetting to report zł.500,000 worth of shares he held, but says the issue has been used as a smear campaign.
"I still maintain that Cimoszewicz is the best candidate for president," Kwaniewski said.
"The campaign is definitely brutal, it has hit Cimoszewicz's image, wasted lots of time and ruined his reputation."
Both Kaczyński and Cimoszewicz have focused their campaigns on attacking Donald Tusk, whose moderate image is luring many Poles, wary of radicals on the right and left.
Rivals are trying to brand Tusk as a socially irresponsible economic liberal, whose flat rate tax plans would help the rich at the expense of the poor, even though similar schemes have rejuvenated economic growth in other eastern European states. (Reuters)
