Secessions and resignations
By Mirko Kaupat
Prior to the referendum, many predicted the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) congress would herald the end of Leszek Miller's political career. He avoided this by calling for - and winning - a parliamentary vote of confidence. Standing up against him within the party could be a suicide mission right now, as Miller's position has been strengthened, at least for the moment. As one commentator put it, there are many in the SLD dissatisfied with Miller, but there are not that many who are courageous. Thus, the prime minister seems to be safe, but the party itself is still divided on plenty of issues. Party members who are said to belong to the "president's camp" are standing in opposition to Miller, including leading figures like Józef Oleksy, Ryszard Kalisz and Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz. The latter, a former prime minister himself, went public last week and criticized the SLD for the way they have been ruling the country. He accused the party of "choosing people for their political connections and not their competence, forgetting that Poland is a nation of 40 million people and not a party of 100,000 members, and not adhering to moral and legal regulations."
Moreover, President Kwaśniewski has quickly recovered after being knocked down by Miller's successful offensive in the Sejm. He explicitly didn't want to deny a newspaper report that he is going to to set up a civic committee to propose candidates for next year's elections to the European Parliament. It is supposed to be a list of respected and well known politicians, mixed with political youngsters who are not burdened by their past, as so many older SLD members are. Everyone was eager to praise this idea, including Miller, not least because it sounded like an endeavor that stood above the pettiness of the day-to-day party struggles. But, if enacted, this list would effectively form a new political party, one that would pose a competitive threat to the SLD. Rumors are already spreading in Warsaw that Kwaśniewski might take this opportunity to form a new centrist party, something it has been alleged he intends to do. This could pose a real threat to the SLD, which is still the strongest single political party in the country, despite public support for them being at a low point.
Despite his recent successes, Miller shouldn't be too sure of his position within the SLD, either. At the end of last week, the frustrated Agricultural Minister Adam Tański had enough and quit his post, claiming that he lacked support for agricultural reforms within the SLD parliamentary club.
"There was a dislike, even hostility," he said, describing attitudes towards his proposals in the governing party. This could represent a problem for Miller because, as Tański stressed, the agricultural reforms always had the prime minister's backing.
