With campaign days running out, candidates in the presidential elections on June 20 have been packing in meetings and media appearances, in the last weekend before polling day.
Three of the leading candidates, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Grzegorz Napieralski and Waldemar Pawlak will be taking part in a televised debate transmitted by the public broadcaster TVP, Sunday evening.
Bronislaw Komorowski, the current acting president and leader in opinion polls (see our election page poll tracker) has refused to take part tonight, arguing that either all ten candidates attend, or the debate should be between only himself and Jaroslaw Kaczynski - the two candidates with a realistic chance of winning the elections. In the latest opinion poll by the Homo Homini institute for Polish Radio, Komorowski, though losing five percent support in the last seven days, still maintains just over a ten percent lead.
The Kaczynski campaign team said Friday that it would not be possible to organise a head-to-head with Komorowski before the first round of elections, but one would take place before the second round on July 4.
Meanwhile, Bronislaw Komorowski is organising a special concert - ‘Solidarity with flood victims’ - in a Warsaw park this afternoon. Guest artists include Lady Pank, Kayah and Robert Gawliński. Money will also be collected for the flood relief fund.
‘Ventilating the palace’
Andrzej Olechowski told a national convention, Sunday, that he is standing in the elections to “restore the potential and usefulness of the office of president”.
"If I become president, I promise to throw out party interests and quarrels from the [presidential] palace,” he declared to supporters. “I will ventilate all rooms, clearing them of small-mindedness, suspicion and envy and replace these with good will, openness, dialogue and compromise.”
Grzegorz Napieralski - who said that Komorowski’s lack of willingness to take part in tonight’s debate “showed disrespect for voters” - is having a meeting in Warsaw with the President of the Socialist Group of the National Assembly of France, Jean-Marc Ayrault.
Andrzej Lepper is having an open town hall meeting in Slupsk, northern Poland and Kornel Morawiecki be attending a festival in Krzeszyce in the west of the country. (pg)
Sources: TVP/PAP/IAR
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