Self-Defense sponsor and try to recruit athletes in the Para Olympics

Apart from sponsoring archer Małgorzata Olejnik and athlete Mirosław Pych, Lepper promised to give as much as zł.100,000 in prize money for Polish winners. As Rzeczpospolita found out, Self-Defense also used the opportunity to encourage disabled sportspeople to join their party, but its officials strongly objected to the way the media tried to present this. "It is not about winning over the electorate before the elections, it is really about ideology. We are the first party to sponsor disabled sportspeople," said Self-Defense member Łukasz Skrzypek. Mieczysław Grabianowski, spokesperson for the Ministry of Physical Education and Sport agrees, "It is not important who sponsors them, it is important that they can participate." (Rzeczpospolita, September 18-19, pp. A1, A16) D.W.