Janusz Palikot, photo - east newsA government minister has said that he is against dismissing maverick politician Janusz Palikot from the ruling Civic Platform after he threatened to form his own, more liberal, party.
Minister without portfolio Pawel Gras has said that getting rid of Palikot is not a good idea, and that Civic Platform is big enough to contain both liberal and conservative wings of the party. “I wouldn’t throw Palikot out of the party. I believe he is a [loyal supporter] of Civic Platform,” he said.
Palikot, a leading politician from the more liberal wing of Civic Platform, said earlier that he is going to register a political association called Modern Poland and campaign for a greater separation between Church and State, liberalise Poland’s strict abortion laws and recognize civil partnerships for same-sex couples.
Palikot believes that Civic Platform has been too conservative over social issues such as state funding of IVF and many other issues.
“The creation of the association is just the first step. Now, everything depends on Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s decision,” Palikot said. “My aim is to change Civic Platform but if I don’t manage to do that, I’ll leave the party and form my own.”
Some members of Civic Platform have called for Palikot’s dismissal. In July, MEP Filip Kaczmarek, for instance, called for Pakikot to be kicked out of the party earlier this summer after he claimed President Lech Kaczynski was under the influence of alcohol before he stepped on the doomed TU 154 plane which crashed in Smolensk on April 10.
Minister Gras, however, says that Palikot is an asset to the party.
“Many politicians envy Palikot’s popularity and commitment and they try to imitate him but fail,” says Gras.
Gras stressed that Civic Platform is big enough to host both a controversial Janusz Palikot and more conservative politicians such as Krakow’s Jaroslaw Gowin. “Many people from outside Civic Platform are fascinated with Palikot. If he wants to use this political asset and strengthen his position within Civic Platform then that’s fine,” said Gras.
Gras said that PM Donald Tusk has already probably dissuaded Palikot from forming his own party, whuch would be to the detriment of Civic Platform but added that it is not Tusk, but Napieralski, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance, who fears Palikot most. The Democratic Left Alliance has also been campaigning on the same social issue as Palikot, hoping to attract more liberal voters.
On 24 September, Civic Platform will decide whether to expel Palikot from the party at MEP Filip Kaczmarek’s request.
The two between Palikot and his more conservative colleagues comes as a similar battle for the future direction of the opposition Law and Justice party heated up this week, with rumours of leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski impending resignation. (pg/mg)
Source: PAP
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