Unsympathetic vote
Expressions of sympathy and "get well soon" wishes have been pouring in from all quarters with even U.S. film director David Lynch chipping in with a bunch of flowers for the prime minister.
Some well-wishers, however, appeared keen to go well beyond offering their sympathy and decided to do business with the patient. Leszek Miller is said to have insisted on chairing cabinet meetings, even though he was unable to sit up. But his heroics - or was it histrionics - were not enough to distract his critics, who saw it as yet further proof of his desperation to cling on to power no matter what.
Still, Miller went even further, saying that he would go to Brussels last Friday, even if it meant he would have to wear a collar. It will make our negotiating position even less flexible, Miller joked, in reference to his government's tough stance on the readjustments to voting powers in the European Union.
The sight of the prime minister bravely overcoming adversity to represent and defend the country's vital interests surely should convince even the most hard-hearted of his critics of his personal qualities. And, if not, it should at least win him the sympathy vote of sentimental housewives. Any politician inflicted with such an unfortunate accident can count on at least a couple of weeks' respite from dropping approval ratings.
But being this country's prime minister appears to be a dog's life. At least, when you happen to head a government as unpopular as that of Leszek Miller's. The first public opinion poll after the accident showed that his party's approval ratings not only failed to improve on the strength of a sympathy vote but actually slumped even further, as only 18 percent of Poles would have voted for the Left Democratic Alliance (SLD) had the elections been held last week.
It is difficult to imagine what could help boost SLD's ratings now. Perhaps success in Brussels. But last Tuesday President Aleksander Kwaśniewski appeared to challenge Miller's ability to deliver on that front by offering to go there himself instead of the injured prime minister. After three days of intensive therapy, Miller managed to get what he wanted and the president had to make do with a trip to the airport for a brief interview with the hero of the day as he headed off to Brussels.
The outcome of the talks was not known at the time this issue was closed, but it certainly was clear that the president yet again failed to impress the nation as an active politician. He had to confine himself to bitter remarks that "there was little chance" of a compromise in Brussels. Not even the prime minister's sorry condition could help, Kwaśniewski said, adding that "it would be a mistake to try and play the sympathy card." It simply wouldn't work, the president asserted. He should know; it clearly didn't work for him.
Some well-wishers, however, appeared keen to go well beyond offering their sympathy and decided to do business with the patient. Leszek Miller is said to have insisted on chairing cabinet meetings, even though he was unable to sit up. But his heroics - or was it histrionics - were not enough to distract his critics, who saw it as yet further proof of his desperation to cling on to power no matter what.
Still, Miller went even further, saying that he would go to Brussels last Friday, even if it meant he would have to wear a collar. It will make our negotiating position even less flexible, Miller joked, in reference to his government's tough stance on the readjustments to voting powers in the European Union.
The sight of the prime minister bravely overcoming adversity to represent and defend the country's vital interests surely should convince even the most hard-hearted of his critics of his personal qualities. And, if not, it should at least win him the sympathy vote of sentimental housewives. Any politician inflicted with such an unfortunate accident can count on at least a couple of weeks' respite from dropping approval ratings.
But being this country's prime minister appears to be a dog's life. At least, when you happen to head a government as unpopular as that of Leszek Miller's. The first public opinion poll after the accident showed that his party's approval ratings not only failed to improve on the strength of a sympathy vote but actually slumped even further, as only 18 percent of Poles would have voted for the Left Democratic Alliance (SLD) had the elections been held last week.
It is difficult to imagine what could help boost SLD's ratings now. Perhaps success in Brussels. But last Tuesday President Aleksander Kwaśniewski appeared to challenge Miller's ability to deliver on that front by offering to go there himself instead of the injured prime minister. After three days of intensive therapy, Miller managed to get what he wanted and the president had to make do with a trip to the airport for a brief interview with the hero of the day as he headed off to Brussels.
The outcome of the talks was not known at the time this issue was closed, but it certainly was clear that the president yet again failed to impress the nation as an active politician. He had to confine himself to bitter remarks that "there was little chance" of a compromise in Brussels. Not even the prime minister's sorry condition could help, Kwaśniewski said, adding that "it would be a mistake to try and play the sympathy card." It simply wouldn't work, the president asserted. He should know; it clearly didn't work for him.
