Prime Minister Donald Tusk has given the new justice minister Andrzej Czuma 60 days to prove himself, claims maverick Civic Platform MP Janusz Palikot.

According to Palikot, the decision was taken during a meeting between PM Tusk and his deputy, Grzegorz Schetyna, who is pressing for a quick dismissal of Czuma, who only took the job at the Justice Ministry last month after the sudden resignation of Zbigniew Cwiakalski.

“Andrzej Czuma got 60 days. The PM must have decided that in spite of the mistakes Czuma has made, he still has a potential worth investing in,” said Palikot on the private RMF FM radio station. But he added “I am not sure if it really is 60 days but he still has a chance to stave it all off.”

Czuma is threatened with the sack, not because of his alleged debts, or that he has not resigned from a company his family are involved in, but following the serious accusation that he revealed state secrets in a statement he made concerning the death of the kidnapped Pole in Pakistan last Saturday which could have damaged relations between Warsaw and Islamobad.

Czuma indiscreetly declared that Polish intelligence service knew the names of the Taliban who beheaded Piotr Stanczak and even “names of family members” of the Taliban.

Minister Czuma also made another indiscretion when he accused the authorities in Islamabad of supporting terrorism.

A source close to the government has told the Rzeczpospolita daily that the only reason that Andrzej Czuma is still at his post is because finding a replacement is not so easy and that the chaos at the Ministry of Justice is bad for the government and its mission to try and appear in control.

“It is difficult to find a new candidate for this post. And appointing a new minister of justice for the third time in a row would expose the government to ridicule,” the source told the daily. (jm/pg)

Source: RMF FM, TVN24, Rzeczpospolita