Major drama broke out on the floor of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament, late Friday morning. The major players were Prime Minister Donald Tusk and two opposition leaders - Jaroslaw Kaczynski and frequent mischief-maker Janusz Palikot.
Major drama broke out on the floor of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament, late Friday morning. The major players were Prime Minister Donald Tusk and two opposition leaders - Jaroslaw Kaczynski and frequent mischief-maker Janusz Palikot.
Two years ago, President Lech Kaczynski - the twin brother of Jaroslaw - was tragically killed in a plane crash in Russia. Since then, Jaroslaw, the leader of the right-wing Law & Justice Party (PiS), has used his brother's death to advance his own political career. Additionally, each anniversary, he has gathered his supporters to spread conspiracy theories about his brother's death. His most infamous theory is that the Russians created the foggy conditions that fateful day and/or planted a bomb on the plane. He has others.
Today, on the floor of the Parliament, the endless politicizing of the disaster came to a head. The Prime Minister, in no uncertain words, told Kaczynski to stop: "I would prefer not to be born, than on the graves of the dead to build a political career." (Note: The accompanying link was translated using Google Translate.)
Kaczysnki responded by blaming Tusk for his brother's death. His logic is twisted: The tragedy would never have happened if then-President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Tusk flew together in the same plane to Russia.
A second opposition leader, Janusz Palikot, then bluntly implied that Jaroslaw Kaczynski was in need of medical attention.
And people think that American politics is polarized.
(Many thanks to my father-in-law and wife, both of whom helped translate the debate.)
(AP Photo)
