President Kaczynski confounded most opinion polls three years ago, today, to beat the current prime minister, Donald Tusk in the second ballot of the presidential elections, taking over job from two-term president, Aleksander Kwasniewski.
For the first two years of his presidency Lech Kaczynski worked harmoniously with his twin brother Jaroslaw, who for much of that time occupied the post of prime minister.
But since Donald Tusk emerged victorious in last autumn’s general election, President Kaczynski’s role became much more politicized as he seeks to defend what he sees as the progress his conservative brother made while in office.
The ‘difficult cohabitation’ between Presidential Palace and the government has mainly centered around foreign policy, with conflict over Warsaw’s stance over Russia and the European Union. President Kaczynski has already vetoed public media bills and threatens to do the same over health service reforms the government wishes to get through parliament.
The head of the Presidential Chancellery Piotr Kownacki told a TV interviewer recently that President Kaczynski intends to stand for another five year term in 2010 although no official announcement has been made.
In an interview with the tabloid Super Express today, Lech and jaroslaw’s mother, Jadwiga said that the main way that her son has changed over the last three years is that he “takes much more care over his appearance. He never used to bother much about clothes and what he wore,” she said.
“Lech treats the prudency as a mission and will do what is best for Poland.”
She also complained that the picture of President Kaczynski the media has painted is not a correct one. (pg)