Most of today’s papers devote their coverage to the announcement made by PM Donald Tusk that several ministers of his cabinet have lost their jobs related to the “Blackjack” lobbying scandal which has sent shockwaves through in Poland.
“Prime Minister’s gambling” headlines Gazeta Wyborcza which writes in its editorial pages that the PM wants to rebuild the government’s credibility and win the war with the opposition Law and Justice party in Parliament. He won’t manage to do it, however, if he does not convince Poles that his government is able to control corruption and his party, Civic Platform, is clean – argues the paper.
“ Prime Minister’s strong will” is the title of an editorial from Dziennik Gazeta Prawna in which its author writes that Donald Tusk launched his presidential campaign and immediately made a big step towards his dream job – the country’s’ president. In doing so, he showed the face of a firm and determined leader who does not ignore something as shocking as a gambling scandal. He will be criticized by the opposition for his cabinet reshuffle but should not fear losing in the polls – argues the daily.
“Cold war in Civic Platform?” is the headline from the Rzeczpospolita daily which publishes the results of an opinion poll following the resignations of PM Tusk’s ministers. Forty-seven percent of respondents consider it an acceptable decision while 34 percent think the opposite. “Many people think the decisions were made too late and were too mild” comments a political scientist from University of Warsaw, Wojciech Jablonski in the daily. The resignations were not welcomed by investors. Soon after they had been announced, indexes on the Warsaw Bourse started falling while the zloty lost in value.
“Beheaded” is the headline from the tabloid “Super Express” which writes that Donald Tusk behaved like an expert executioner and presents short profiles of each of the dismissed ministers accompanied with their photo-shopped mug shots
“Will there be a new shield in Poland?” wonders the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, in anticipation of a series of talks with high ranking American officials. According to the daily’s Washington correspondent, it is almost certain that Poland will receive a battery of Patriot rockets in 2010 but, whether the US will build a new shield in this country will depend solely on Poland’s government. US Vice President Joe Biden who will visit Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania between the 20-24 October, will present an offer to Warsaw and Prague, according to the paper’s source in the White House, to host a logistics base and operational headquarters for the SM-3 missiles which are replacing the George W. Bush-era Ground Based Interceptors. (di/mmj)