15/02/2007

Ludwik Dorn, who until this week was Poland's minister of the interior, was so close-ly allied with the country's ruling Kaczynski brothers he was known as "the third twin". But he found out what it means to oppose the Kaczynskis - immediate dismissal.

His removal, following what Mr Dorn called "a different opinion concerning the handling of one of the problems in the ministry", came only two days after the equally unexpected exit of Radoslaw Sikorski, the defence minister.
The personnel changes are signs of increasing centralisation in Poland, where Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the prime minister, has removed almost every independent minister and strengthened his control of the civil service, the central bank, the courts, the public media and state-controlled companies.
"Jaroslaw Kaczynski does not tolerate any criticism," said Jacek Kucharczyk of the Institute of Public Affairs, a policy think-tank.
The consequences for the largest of the new European Union member states and one of Europe's big six countries is increasing marginalisation at a time when Poland is grappling with several tough issues. These include eventual adoption of the euro, Russia's energy dominance, negotiating a US anti-missile base in the country and domestic issues including a struggling health service, reforming the pension system and little progress in highway building. Electoral promises to cut taxes and build 3m apartments have been pushed into the future.
"Things are just drifting along," said Jadwiga Staniszkis, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw.
Although Mr Kaczynski yesterday said Mr Dorn would act as his deputy, there is little doubt that Mr Dorn, an acerbic intellectual and a political heavyweight in the ruling Law and Justice party, has had his status severely reduced.
"Jaroslaw Kaczynski is a person who uses people and is not attached to them," said Ms Staniszkis.
Mr Sikorski was also an independent political figure who had differed with the Kaczynskis about the military draft, and fought with Antoni Macierwicz, his conspiracy-minded deputy in charge of revamping military intelligence. Fluent in English and able to work easily with the outside world, Mr Sikorski was an aberration in a government that has seen a freeze in rel-ations with Poland's neighbours, particularly Russia and Germany, and the EU.
Trying to work out the reasons for the changes, in the face of an almost complete lack of comment from Mr Kaczynski, has put analysts in the position of cold war Kremlinologists.
"It's almost like Stalin's fight with Trotsky - we'll soon have a whole body of knowledge of who is up and who is down depending on how close they stand to Jaroslaw Kaczynski," said Mr Kucharczyk.
Last year Mr Kaczynski also replaced the urbane Stefan Meller, then foreign minister, with political loyalist Anna Fotyga, and took the job of Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, a former prime minister. Zyta Gilowska, the finance minister, was so weakened after being fired and then reinstated after accusations of collaboration with communists she now depends on Mr Kaczynski's support.

Jan Cienski
source: http://www.ft.com/
added by J.S.