SLD forced to form local coalitions with unlikely bed-fellows, Samoobrona

Even though the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) won the elections to the majority of local authorities, the party will nonetheless have to form coalitions. The choice of a partner in coalition is going to be problematic, however, as in some cases the SLD will have to co-operate with Self-Defense (Samoobrona), which is its main opposition party in the Sejm. The members of Self-Defense announced that they would be willing to form a coalition with any partner ready to accept their political program. The SLD- Self-Defense coalition has already been built in Lublin, where the Polish Peasants Party (PSL) missed the runner-up position to form the coalition with SLD by one vote. The Polish Family League is the only party with which the SLD is definitely not willing to co-operate. "All other combinations are possible," said Jerzy Wenderlich, the SLD's spokesman. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) K.Z.