Polish Parliament votes for criminal indictment of President and other top leaders
Poland's parliament has voted for, as far as I can tell, the indictment of ex PM Leszek Miller and current President Aleksander Kwasniewski and others over the 'Rywin-gate' scandal. As their have been NO English language articles explaining this corruption scandal, (exept for a couple subscriber only at Transitions) the single biggest political issue in Poland over the past seventeen months, a bit of background.
From late 2001 on, the Polish SLD (ex-communist) government was at odds with the private media, especially the powerful Agora group (owner of Gazeta Wyborcza, left-liberal, associated with ex-dissident circles, and very successful) which wanted to increase its rapidly growing radio business, and, crucially, to enter the TV market by buying Poland's biggest private TV station. The government devised a law that seemed perfectly tailored to frustrate Agora, while opening the way to ex-communist apparatchik, SLD ally and newly appointed head of one of the state TV channels to turn himself and his station into the dominant media group. Both money and politics were thus at play. Agora, together with much of the rest of the private media launched a campaign against the law.
In the summer of 2002 a leading media exec with ties to the SLD, Lew Rywin, approached Adam Michnik, titular head of Gazeta Wyborcza, with a modest proposal. For a few million for himself, a nice post for himself, millions for the SLD, and agreeing to stop criticizing the SLD, the SLD would rewrite the law to suit Agora's interests, and not object to Agora's expansion into the TV market. He said he was speaking in the name of Prime Minster Leszek Miller and 'the group of those who hold power.' Michnik said he would like to discuss it with the real managers of the enterprise and to meet again. He then set up recording devices for the next meeting and Rywin repeated his proposals.
THe newspaper investigated, and Michnik went to the PM to ask what the hell was going on (or to tacitly inform him that Agora had blackmail material). The PM said he knew nothing, and proceeded to do nothing Same with Agora, until at the end of the year it splashed the story over its front page. (Either investigating as it said, or, according to its detractors, hoping that the SLD would fold on the media law).
Then came the parliamentary investigative commission which the SLD tried to create a dominant partisan majority in. It partly succeeded, with the exception of the SLD commission chairman, who lived up to his reputation for honesty. At the end it was still not really clear what Rywin was up to and who was behind him. What was clear was the remarkable level of corruption and cronyism permeating the SLD, mainly through a network of old Communist nomenklatura types - and Rywin was closely connected to all of them, even spoke with the SLD media chiefs before and after each Agora meeting.
Four different reports were issued. One by a loyal SLD member - there's nothing to see, nothing happened, just one extortionist trying to bluff his way into some money. THe main opposition leader, Jan Rokita, slammed both the SLD and Agora (on Agora he had plenty of plausible speculation and absolutely no hard evidence). The commission chairman also issued a plausible report, mainly slamming the SLD which he was in the process of leaving. Then the harshest report mainly blaming the SLD by an opposition rival of Rokita's calling for criminal proceedings against the ex PM, the President and a bunch of other senior and one by the populist nutcases who actually recommended little action at all, while blaming everyone.
Now to today's events.
In the parliamentary voting it was clear that the whitewash report had no chance of passing. So the SLD members chose to vote tactically - for the populist report, and for the one by the secondary opposition party. In multiple round voting that eliminated all the other reports, and the SLD clearly hoped that it could then get the populist report accepted with former SLD members (associated with the President) voting with the SLD for the empty bombast of the populists. It was wrong.
So now, after the vote, the SLD parliamentary speaker has said - all this wasn't a real vote. We need to vote again.
If anyone reads Polish
lots of stuff in all the papers. GW has plenty, but probably better to get Rzeczpospoita's perspective (GW is an actor in the mess) Link
Poland's parliament has voted for, as far as I can tell, the indictment of ex PM Leszek Miller and current President Aleksander Kwasniewski and others over the 'Rywin-gate' scandal. As their have been NO English language articles explaining this corruption scandal, (exept for a couple subscriber only at Transitions) the single biggest political issue in Poland over the past seventeen months, a bit of background.
From late 2001 on, the Polish SLD (ex-communist) government was at odds with the private media, especially the powerful Agora group (owner of Gazeta Wyborcza, left-liberal, associated with ex-dissident circles, and very successful) which wanted to increase its rapidly growing radio business, and, crucially, to enter the TV market by buying Poland's biggest private TV station. The government devised a law that seemed perfectly tailored to frustrate Agora, while opening the way to ex-communist apparatchik, SLD ally and newly appointed head of one of the state TV channels to turn himself and his station into the dominant media group. Both money and politics were thus at play. Agora, together with much of the rest of the private media launched a campaign against the law.
In the summer of 2002 a leading media exec with ties to the SLD, Lew Rywin, approached Adam Michnik, titular head of Gazeta Wyborcza, with a modest proposal. For a few million for himself, a nice post for himself, millions for the SLD, and agreeing to stop criticizing the SLD, the SLD would rewrite the law to suit Agora's interests, and not object to Agora's expansion into the TV market. He said he was speaking in the name of Prime Minster Leszek Miller and 'the group of those who hold power.' Michnik said he would like to discuss it with the real managers of the enterprise and to meet again. He then set up recording devices for the next meeting and Rywin repeated his proposals.
THe newspaper investigated, and Michnik went to the PM to ask what the hell was going on (or to tacitly inform him that Agora had blackmail material). The PM said he knew nothing, and proceeded to do nothing Same with Agora, until at the end of the year it splashed the story over its front page. (Either investigating as it said, or, according to its detractors, hoping that the SLD would fold on the media law).
Then came the parliamentary investigative commission which the SLD tried to create a dominant partisan majority in. It partly succeeded, with the exception of the SLD commission chairman, who lived up to his reputation for honesty. At the end it was still not really clear what Rywin was up to and who was behind him. What was clear was the remarkable level of corruption and cronyism permeating the SLD, mainly through a network of old Communist nomenklatura types - and Rywin was closely connected to all of them, even spoke with the SLD media chiefs before and after each Agora meeting.
Four different reports were issued. One by a loyal SLD member - there's nothing to see, nothing happened, just one extortionist trying to bluff his way into some money. THe main opposition leader, Jan Rokita, slammed both the SLD and Agora (on Agora he had plenty of plausible speculation and absolutely no hard evidence). The commission chairman also issued a plausible report, mainly slamming the SLD which he was in the process of leaving. Then the harshest report mainly blaming the SLD by an opposition rival of Rokita's calling for criminal proceedings against the ex PM, the President and a bunch of other senior and one by the populist nutcases who actually recommended little action at all, while blaming everyone.
Now to today's events.
In the parliamentary voting it was clear that the whitewash report had no chance of passing. So the SLD members chose to vote tactically - for the populist report, and for the one by the secondary opposition party. In multiple round voting that eliminated all the other reports, and the SLD clearly hoped that it could then get the populist report accepted with former SLD members (associated with the President) voting with the SLD for the empty bombast of the populists. It was wrong.
So now, after the vote, the SLD parliamentary speaker has said - all this wasn't a real vote. We need to vote again.
If anyone reads Polish
lots of stuff in all the papers. GW has plenty, but probably better to get Rzeczpospoita's perspective (GW is an actor in the mess) Link
posted by BEING HAD at 5:27 AM
<< Home