Deputy head of the ruling Civic Platform party, Janusz Palikot (right) has been accused of running a negative campaign against one of the candidates in the primary ballot for the presidential elections this year.

Palikot, the self-styled maverick politician who is a constant feature of political talk shows on Polish media, accused Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister, of being a “Law and Justice” type politician who does not fit into Civic Platform’s more “liberal” approach to politics.

Minister Sikorski  - who is running against Bronislaw Komorowski in the primaries - was defence minister in the Law and Justice government before he crossed over to support Civic Platform.

Palikot has stirred controversy within his party by calling Sikorski a one-man, “Law & Justice/Civic Platform coalition, if not just the Law and Justice”.

The attack against Palikot from within Civic Platform has come from their leader in parliament, Grzegorz Schetyna, who has demanded Palikot be suspended from the party.

"We need to stop this [kind of talk from within the party] as we want the primary elections to be a celebration of democracy and politics and not disarray. I believe [Palikot] has violated the rules that we have jointly agreed upon, which is a crime against the Civic Platform, and we cannot accept this."

"My question is why Grzegorz Schetyna is taking such an absurd stand on the matter,” Janusz Palikot, who is deputy chairman of Civic Platform, responded. “He is too seasoned a politician not to know what he is talking about. It rather points to a battle over influence within the party. He wants to undermine my position.”

An election committee will convene to discuss the matter this evening, to determine the future of Palikot in the party. (pg/ab)