Divisions within the ruling coalition of Civic Platform(PO) and Polish Peasant’s Party (PSL) continue to open up – now an argument has broken out over nuclear energy policy (photo: archive - polskie radio).
Civic Platform and the Polish Peasant’s Party seem unable to reach an agreement on the possible construction of nuclear power plants.
The two outlooks towards the issue reflect a fundamental disagreement over the future of energy policy in Poland. Prime Minister Donald Tusk wants atomic energy power stations to be constructed as soon as possible, while Deputy PM Waldemar Pawlak, from PSL, prefers the more traditionally ‘green’ approach of cutting back on the amount of power needed and developing renewable sources of energy.
Pawlak’s nomination for the post of government plenipotentiary for the construction of nuclear power plants is Professor Krzysztof Zmijewski, who is generally thought to be against the nuclear power project. PM Tusk has refused to sign Zmijewski’s nomination.
Civic Platform’s candidate, on the other hand, is Tomasz Jackowski, who is the vice head of the department of nuclear energy at the ministry of economy, a ministry that Pawlak is head of. Vice minister of economy Adam Szejnfeld is also thought to be interested in the post.
Both candidatures, however, are opposed by Waldemar Pawlak.
“We need a person who has distance from nuclear energy, who won’t give unnecessary impetus to the atomic industry sector and will be able to prepare a reasonable, objective plan,” Pawlak is quoted in Gazeta Wyborcza as saying.
Demands from the European Union to drastically cut carbon emissions by 2020 has lent urgency in Warsaw to construct nuclear power stations in Poland, which is seen as the best clean energy source which would not require a developing economy such as Poland’s from cutting back on growth rates. Consequently, Poland has an ambitious plan to construct at least one nuclear power plant by 2020.
Today 94 percent of Poland’s energy is based on coal and the country emits huge amounts of carbon dioxide.
Nuclear power is also seen as a way of reducing Poland’s reliance on Russian oil and gas, an issue which has grown in importance since Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine earlier this year.
Support for the nuclear option appears to be growing in Poland. An opinion poll released this week by GfK Polonia shows that forty percent support the construction nuclear power plants, up from 33 percent in January.
The dispute between Civic Platform and Polish Peasant’s Party over nuclear power comes at a time of growing conflict between the two coalition partners. PM Donald Tusk recently accused Waldemar Pawlak of nepotism, by using his position as brigadier general of the Voluntary Fire Service to further interests of his own family. Pawlak has denied the charges.
The accusations that PSL are feathering their own nests is not new – last year media reports claimed that relatives of PSL politicians were employed at various positions at the Agriculture Market Agency. (pg/jm)