The big fight
by Chris Mularczyk
The government was doing its best to take people's minds off the main event.
The belated Committee for European Integration (UKIE) report on the consequences of accession paints a doom-laden scenario of what would happen if the country does not join the European Union. On the other hand, it promises pots of gold should we join. Then there are the big bucks coming here from the F-16 contract offset deal.
However, nothing could eclipse the big fight. Not since the Holyfield vs. Tyson bouts has a contest received such a billing. In the red corner, weighing next to nothing, we have the seasoned champ Leszek Miller. In the blue corner, intellectually very heavy indeed, we have the Kraków bruiser Jan Rokita. The fight could go to many rounds.
The challenger Rokita of the PO has so far won all contests during the Rywingate championships. He caught the showman Adam Michnik with one to the head, causing memory loss. After a few rounds with Rokita, the tall TV champ Robert Kwiatkowski was stinging like a butterfly and floating like a bee. The women's champion, former deputy minister of culture and head of Miller's political office, Aleksandra Jakubowska, could not even lay a handbag on him. The aging screenwriter and movie director, Bolesław Sulik, begged for mercy in the ring as the hacks bayed for blood. One of Miller's closest sparring partners, minister Lech Nikolski, just lay back on the ropes and refused to fight. Only the resilient Włodzimierz Czarzasty, a member of the National Radio and Television Council, was prepared well enough to last the distance with the Kraków terror.
Champ Miller fears Rokita's nifty paperwork and cruel pointed questions. Rumors that Rokita will wear ear protectors in case Miller should turn nasty with barbed replies are probably just press speculation. The champ's reputation is on the line. If he fails to win this bout, his own promoters may stop him fighting again.
The stakes are high. If Miller survives this test, he goes on to contest the European Union championship on June 7 and 8. The European bout has been extended to last over two days to give him a chance to secure enough points for the victory to be valid. Winning this fight may mean that his place in the history books will be secure for evermore.
But getting through the match with Rokita is going to be very tough indeed. Miller is in for quite a grilling. He will have to explain why he did not inform the public prosecutor of the Rywin bribery case as soon as he had evidence at hand. He will have to reveal his billings, which will in turn lead to a further flurry of body blows in the shape of questions both in the investigative commission and by the mass media.
Miller's own corner will be watching very closely indeed. Recent public opinion polls and the performance of the government in general have taken the shine off the invincible superman image he once portrayed. The SLD's vote is on the slide, and the government is less popular than the bubonic plague. But he can still pack a mean punch as the undefeated President Aleksander Kwaśniewski discovered when Miller disclosed the existence of the letter Rywin gave to the head of state.
But even getting through the Rokita and European referendum skirmishes will not guarantee that the champ will fight on. His own people may throw the towel into the ring during the party congress. The champ is only good for them if he can secure his promoters further success. If they sense that he is taking them to certain defeat in the ultimate decider that is the general election, the temptation to give his belt of office to someone new maybe too strong.
Champ Miller may yet come to rue his promise of bringing forward the decisive bout to June 2004. Many in his corner fear that it would be a premature end of the road for them. Fearing an early bloodbath, they could turn to a new kid on the block to lead them into the fray.
The contest is also very significant for the challenger Jan Rokita. Should he prove effective, his corner may sense it should be promoting him better. He has always been accused of not being a team player. True enough, his record as leader fighting for the SKL was woeful. He later lost the local fight for the mayor of Kraków. Many had written him off. But all may be forgiven should he come back with the scalp of superman. The PO, following Maciej Płażyński's exit and faced with permanent dithering by Andrzej Olechowski, may decide it needs a proven star fighter to relaunch itself on the electoral circuit. If that is so, then Rokita may be challenging for honors sooner than anyone had expected.
