Polish government caught in major scandal

Post #291,914 by JayMehaffey 8/29/07 9:18:38 PM Reply	Polish government caught in major scandal [link\|http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070829.wpoland0829/BNStory/International/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20070829.wpoland0829\|The Globe and Mail] Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski faced a growing outcry on Wednesday over accusations his secret services had spied on politicians, an affair some commentators have branded a "Polish Watergate." Former prime minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz joined the fray, saying in media interviews he had grounds to suspect he was spied on when in office and that Poland had become an "Orwellian state" \ufffd a reference to "1984," a novel by George Orwell describing a future totalitarian state. "I cannot rule out that I was eavesdropped on," he told private tvn television late on Tuesday. "We are living in an Orwellian state and we need to be aware of that." Government was already on the verge of coming apart, so this is sure to take it down. The only question now is the scale of the consequences. If this trashes the current major right wing party, the entire government of Poland could shift to the left. At the very least, expect some interesting revelations as the old communist guys get investigated. Jay
Post #291,923 by imqwerky 8/29/07 11:14:53 PM Reply	SniffThey grow up so fast! Why, it won't be long before they have sex scandals and NeoCons! Smile, Amy
Post #291,965 by scoenye 8/30/07 9:38:48 AM 8/30/07 9:38:57 AM Reply	They are neocons The government is/was a mix of ultra-conservatives, religious fundamentalists and rightwing populists. They are also about as subtle as your neocons: one of their European MP said about German Chancellor Merkel that she was working on the same goals as Hitler, only more cunning. Definitely one from the Rumsfeld school of diplomacy. Most of the official religious fervor is aimed at the gay community for now, but anti-semitism surrounds the government through the supporters of one of its member parties. - The public TV station censored a gay scene out of an episode of a British comedy series - The government wanted an official investigation into the "gay tendencies" of Teletubby Tinky Winky. - The ombudswoman for children proposed that gays and lesbians should not be able to become teachers in order to protect the children. So far no sex scandals yet, but one of the President's direct advisors was arrested for dealing cocaine. Edited by scoenye Aug. 30, 2007, 09:38:57 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #291,992 by Ashton 8/30/07 6:31:58 PM Reply	OK.. That's IT for me - I declare the moratorium on Polish Jokes sooo.. OVER. 'And I am unanimous in that'
Post #292,009 by CRConrad 8/31/07 2:34:28 AM Reply	Which is why the Bushcon gang love "the New Europe" so much.
Post #291,971 by scoenye 8/30/07 10:28:53 AM Reply	Afraid not :-( Its not the secret services in the sense of CIA/NSA that are involved, but anti-corruption investigators. I couldn't locate any further details about that organization, but I would assume it resorts under the equivalent of the Justice Department. Sounds a bit familiar doesn't it? Only here the competition was targeted instead of the opposition. A parliamentary investigation before the election was blocked so the brothers will still be able to claim that the investigators did their job as they were supposed to. I don't see them losing many votes over this one and likewise with the two coalition parties that were targeted. Their electorate does not contain any left wingers, so I expect most defections to be traded amongst the four parties (the fourth withdrew involved. If anything comes out of this, the brothers may trade the extreme right parties for a coalition with the more centrist right wingers, but any "shift to the left" will be relative at best. Not sure where the "old communist guys" are coming from. Most of the current crop in power have their roots in the Solidarnosc movement. One of their last major acts was an attempt to "out" all former communist associates in public life, so I don't think they are afraid of any revelations (unless of course it would be that the brothers were "ubecy")
Post #291,985 by JayMehaffey 8/30/07 3:09:42 PM Reply	probably confusing scandals Not sure where the "old communist guys" are coming from. Most of the current crop in power have their roots in the Solidarnosc movement. One of their last major acts was an attempt to "out" all former communist associates in public life, so I don't think they are afraid of any revelations (unless of course it would be that the brothers were "ubecy") I'm probably confusing scandals here then. One of the problems the Polish government has faced in recent years is the ex-communist officials and associates in the government, particularly the intelligence services. Both because of their involvement with the old communist government and with their apparent tendency to be even more corrupt then the average government official. Jay
Post #292,000 by scoenye 8/30/07 10:27:06 PM Reply	Hard to find accurate info The Belgian newspaper site I usually consult only keeps the public headlines for 3 months or so. I finally dug up the BBC links below which put the collaborator issue in context. [link\|http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6648435.stm\|http://news.bbc.co.u...urope/6648435.stm] [link\|http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6913682.stm\|http://news.bbc.co.u...urope/6913682.stm] The corruption scandal seems to date to the previous government but no specifics.

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