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Polish Newspapers & Magazines
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Poland's new president is sworn in
2005/12/26
Original Article Date: 2005/12/23
The Associated Press
WARSAW Lech Kaczynski was sworn in as Poland's new president Friday, crowning the rise of new conservative leaders who pledge to fight corruption, talk tough to Russia and distance the country from its communist past.
In his first remarks after taking the oath of office, Kaczynski said Poland would keep its strong relationship with the United States and pledged to make troubled ties with Russia "an important issue" for his presidency.
His speech to parliament focused mainly on domestic issues — among them, cleansing the country of corruption and the influence of former communist apparatchiks.
"The state is not performing its duties properly," the 56-year-old former Solidarity activist and ex-mayor of Warsaw said as he began his five-year term. "For that reason, it must be cleansed and rebuilt."
Kaczynski won the presidency in an Oct. 23 runoff election, beating free-market conservative Donald Tusk. His victory came a month after the Law and Justice party, led by his twin brother Jaroslaw, won parliamentary elections and installed conservative Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz as prime minister.
Kaczynski's swearing in completes a sharp turn to the right and the wholesale removal of former communists such as outgoing President Aleksander Kwasniewski and the left-wing cabinet of ousted Prime Minister Marek Belka, who led the country into the European Union last year.
The new, socially conserative leadership led by the Kacyznski twins pledges to protect welfare benefits even as they work for economic growth amid 17 percent unemployment.
Kaczynski inherits a close alliance with the U.S. and tense relations with Moscow from Kwasniewski, who has been president for the past decade.
"We will continue to pursue good trans-Atlantic ties and relations with the United States," Kaczynski told lawmakers. "But we will present out point of view in a clear and strong way."
A decision is expected in the next week on whether Poland will keep its troops in Iraq, where it has been a key U.S. ally since the 2003 war to oust Saddam Hussein.
During the campaign, Kaczynski called for removing former communists from public office. Now that he has taken office he indicated he would pursue that course, but without causing unnecessary social divisions.
"Our country requires that old accounts be squared, but it also needs accord and unity," Kaczynski said in a 20-minute speech greeted by frequent applause. Kaczynski appeared nervous as he was sworn in, forgetting to raise his right hand as he promised to "observe the constitution and to protect the freedom and independence of Poland." He completed the oath with the words "so help me God" — an optional phrase that was skipped by Kwasniewski.
The swearing-in began a pomp-filled transition of power reflecting the new leader's nationalist and traditionalist inclinations.
A special Mass was held in Warsaw's landmark St. John's Cathedral, underlining Kaczynski's commitment to Roman Catholic values. Wearing a dark coat, Kaczynski sat between his wife and mother, his hands clasped and head bowed, as Poland's primate, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, delivered a homily.
Later he received a formal welcome the presidential palace, his family's new home, where he and his wife, Maria, were presented with bread and salt, a traditional gesture of hospitality. They leaned over in turns to kiss the round loaf of rustic-looking bread.
He was to take command of the army in an outdoor ceremony on a large Warsaw square.
Kaczynski said relations with Russia will be "important" to his leadership. The never-easy relationship has hit new lows over the past year following Poland's support during Ukraine's Orange Revolution for pro-Western presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko and mediation efforts by Kwasniewski. Poland was also troubled by Russia's decision to build a Baltic Sea gas pipeline to Germany bypassing Polish territory.
"There exist no objective reasons for which relations with Russia should not be good," Kaczynski said during Friday's speech.
At home, Kaczynski and the new government favor traditional social values, opposing abortion and gay marriage. As mayor, Kaczynski drew criticism from human rights groups for refusing permission for gay rights demonstrations in the capital.
Some Poles have expressed concern about too much power being concentrated in the hands of one family.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski decided against seeking the prime minister's job. However, many fear that Jaroslaw — seen as the strategist behind the party and the brothers' political successes — is guiding the new government of Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz.
Source: International Herald Tribune,
Poland's new president is sworn in
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Current Article:
2006/01/09
Poland's New Gov't Recalls 10 Ambassadors
(AP) Poland's new conservative government will recall 10 ambassadors with links to communist-era authorities, the first such sweeping move in 16 years of democracy, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Stefan Meller decided to cut short the ambassadors' missions amid a broader attempt by the new government to purge state offices of ex-communists, ministry spokesman Pawel Dobrowolski told The Associated Press.
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2005/12/26
Poland's new president is sworn in
WARSAW Lech Kaczynski was sworn in as Poland's new president Friday, crowning the rise of new conservative leaders who pledge to fight corruption, talk tough to Russia and distance the country from its communist past.
In his first remarks after taking the oath of office, Kaczynski said Poland would keep its strong relationship with the United States and pledged to make troubled ties with Russia \"an important issue\" for his presidency.
2005/12/19
Poland to examine claims of secret CIA jails
The Polish government is launching an inquiry into whether the country hosted Central Intelligence Agency prisons on its territory, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, the prime minister, announced on Monday.
The charge by US-based Human Rights Watch that the US intelligence agency kept prisoners accused of terrorism in Poland has been consistently rejected by Aleksander Kwasniewski, the Polish president.
2005/12/12
Poland was main CIA European detention base: paper
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland was the heart of the CIA's secret detention network in Europe until recently, an analyst of the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch organization was quoted as telling a Polish newspaper.
\"Poland was the main base for CIA interrogations in Europe, while Romania played more of a role in the transfer of detained prisoners,\" analyst Marc Garlasco was quoted on Friday by Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza as saying in an interview.
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