Speaker of Parliament and acting president Bronislaw Komorowski has admitted that he initially felt like pulling out of the presidential elections in the wake of the Smolensk air disaster.

Komorowski - who as speaker of the lower house of parliament was constitutionally compelled to become head of state after the death of President Lech Kaczynski - told the TVN 24 news station that he felt the “burden of carrying the two roles”, of acting president and presidential candidate, would be too heavy to bare.

He continued as a candidate for elections which were originally planned for the autumn, because it was the will of his party. “It wasn’t my decision to stand. It was taken by Civic Platform in the primaries,” he said.

Komorowski - the leader by some margin in opinion polls over his main rival, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, twin brother of the late president - said he thought it most likely that no clear winner would emerge in the first round of elections on June 20, necessitating a second ballot on July 4.

The election campaign would be fought with due respect for the 96 who died in western Russia on April 10, however. “Certainly, the candidates will try to avoid a fracture of the national mood of mourning and remembrance,” Komorowski said. (pg)