SLD leader Miller turns down invitation to televised election debate

Leszek Miller, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), has turned down an invitation from Civic Platform (PO) leader Andrzej Olechowski to hold a televised debate prior to the elections. Olechowski proposed the debate as a way for the two men to lay out their parties' political agendas for the coming four years. Announcing Miller's rejection of the proposal, SLD spokesman Michal Tober said, "The duty of Leszek Miller is to turn up wherever his meetings are scheduled. That is why we do not consider canceling meetings with the voters in order to discuss politics with politicians." Olechowski interpreted Tober's statement as a misunderstanding. "What we offer is a genuine meeting with the voters. I don't know any better way of informing the voters." He added that president Aleksander Kwasniewski had expressed his support for the plan, saying that debates should accompany the election campaign. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A4) P.J.