The cabinet's musical chairs

By Aleksander Nowacki

When the number of ministers dismissed from Leszek Miller's cabinet reached a double-digit figure in the first days of April this year, the prime minister clearly felt that the limit a single government could take had been reached. Therefore, he went on record as saying "There are going to be no more changes to my cabinet. From now on this government will only include those who are capable of doing their jobs."

The comment could be described as nothing short of sensational, coming as it did after some 18 months in office. But even then few commentators seemed to take it seriously.

So when Grzegorz Kołodko, the minister of finance and deputy prime minister responsible for the co-ordination of economic policy, resigned just two months later, it came as neither a surprise nor a disappointment to observers.

Only Samoobrona leader Andrzej Lepper seemed upset.

"We do not agree with Professor Kołodko on many scores," said the champion of the disaffected populace. "But you've got to say that he was right on a lot of issues."

Lepper refused to elaborate on his statement beyond pointing to the former minister's refusal to embrace the flat-rate tax.

The results of the recent confidence vote, which was won by the government due largely to the support of former Samoobrona deputies, may suggest that they have been preaching over an empty coffin.

"Samoobrona is putting their money where their mouth is, which is cooperation with the SLD in the next parliament," an unnamed, but reputedly senior, politician of the Left was quoted as saying.

Should this projection materialize, we may yet hear from Kołodko, the man commonly described as a cross between Baron Munchausen, Nikodem Dyzma (a fictional character associated with overpowering ambition and brute force) and a serious economist.