Polish Video Sting Disrupts Government

http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=123074&src=dcn PolandPolish govt under fire after secretly filmed talksReuters, 27 September 2006Poland's political crisis deepened on Wednesday after television aired secretly filmed meetings that sparked calls on the prime minister to step down. The ruling conservatives of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski are trying to build a new majority coalition after ditching their leftist partners Self-Defence last week in a row over the budget and a decision to send troops to Afghanistan. But their efforts suffered a blow when TVN television late on Tuesday showed footage of Kaczynski's top aide discussing with an opposition MP what she wanted for switching sides. A small party regarded as possible kingmakers responded by suspending coalition talks with the governing Law and Justice. "We are waiting for Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski to explain this," said leader Waldemar Pawlak of the Peasants' Party. "The situation is very serious." Law and Justice officials dismissed accusations of any wrongdoing and said Kaczynski, who came to power last year vowing to weed out corruption in the ex-communist European Union member, would not resign. The zloty traded about 0.6 percent lower against the euro, with analysts saying the likelihood of new elections in central Europe's largest emerging market had increased. "It will now be impossible for the PM to get together a working majority," Danske Bank analyst Lars Christensen said. (((My, it's amazing what a little surreptitious video can do nowadays.))) The fresh political turmoil follows anti-government protests in fellow EU newcomer Hungary, sparked by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany's admission he lied to the electorate. (((Another and similar tale.)))In a report on new EU members on Wednesday, the World Bank warned that political uncertainty and fragmentation had allowed populists to gain influence in the region, hampering reform. (((I wonder why bankers consider "populists" to be incapable of "reform." I mean, Chavez is a "populist" and he's "reforming" the living daylights out of Venezuela.)))SECRET FOOTAGE TVN showed what it said were two meetings between Law and Justice deputy leader Adam Lipinski and Self-Defence MP Renata Beger, who has said she was considering backing the government. He appeared to hold out the prospect of a government post for Beger and also suggested possible financial help for internal party fines Self-Defence defectors may have to pay. Leader Donald Tusk of the largest opposition party, the centre-right Civic Platform, accused the government of corruption and said it should resign. Law and Justice needs the support of the Peasants' Party and some Self-Defence and independent MPs to secure a new majority.Beger said she had agreed with TVN to film the meetings with Lipinski secretly. In one part, Lipinski asked her what she and other Self-Defence deputies expected for backing the government. "Secretary of state in the agriculture ministry, yes?" he asked. "You know, this is not a problem at all ... " (((This would seem to be a common-or-garden video sting, if it weren't for the fact that Anna Beger is a female Polish politician eagerly becoming a video star.)))http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renata_BegerRenata Beger is one of the most known, as well as controversial, politicians in Poland, not only for her political activity, but also for her personality traits. She is often very frank in her opinions. In her first term in parliament, in an interview for the Super Express tabloid, she expanded on her sexual life with her husband, and declared she loved sex "like horse liked oats". Her attempts at formal speeches were often failed due to gaffes such as calling United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Annan Kofan on TV. Beger was frequently ridiculed by satrists and some artists, including signers and bands such as Pawel Kukiz or Big Cyc recording songs devoted to her.Beger famously skipped a sitting of her special parliamentary committee in order to attend a recording of a popular talk show as a celebrity guest. Over time, Beger became a popular celebrity, appearing in TV programmes and displaying a more cultivated image, including her participation in a charity fashion show as a model or in a TV dance show.