http://www2.polskieradio.pl/eo/dokument.aspx?iid=68417

Poland awaits first election debate

01.10.2007
The first verbal duel of this election campaign is set for Monday evening when PM Jarosław Kaczyński will face former president Aleksader Kwaśniewski (from the opposition Left and Democreats - LiD).

Jarosław Kaczyński has decided to ignore the fact Donald Tusk is the leader of the biggest opposition party and chosen Kwaśniewski for his first rival in the debate calling him “Tusk’s boss”.

Opposition politicians have accused the premier of promoting the "left leg" at the expense of the Civic Platform (PO) and the former coalition parties.

The initiative for the debate came from Aleksander Kwaśniewski a week ago.

He said Poles deserved an open and frank discussion about Poland, its people and the great opportunities lying ahead in the years to come.

The prime minister took on the challenge immediately.

Both politicians appeared at the election conventions of their political parties held in Warsaw on Sunday.

In the opinion of Kwaśniewski, the future of Poland, not past 18 years since the fall of communism, is the key area of disagreement between the ruling PiS and left wing.

The former president will most likely focus on all the achievements in Poland since 1989, while Kaczyński will probably present all the negative aspects of the ‘3rd Republic’ in the eyes of an average citizen, such as perceived widespread corruption and the control of many of the nation’s largest industries, including media, as being in the hands of a post-communist oligarch.