Not funny, and not because I'm of Polish ancestry:
"New left-wing Polish party rapidly rises in election surprise" October 08, 2011|Associated Press
WARSAW - A left-wing party’s rapid rise in popularity has stunned some election observers and provided a sign of growing secularization in this conservative Roman Catholic country.
Janusz Palikot, the leader of the left-wing Palikot’s Movement, said yesterday that the time has come for his brand of liberalization - including gay rights, liberalizing abortion laws, and greater separation of church and state.
The new party has risen to third place in opinion polls ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary election with 10 percent projected support - giving it a chance of a greater voice in political life and possibly even a shot at joining the next government.
“With 10 percent, I’m not sure, but with 15 percent there can’t be a coalition without me,’’ said Palikot, a lawmaker who broke away from Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform party last year.
The centrist Civic Platform and the conservative Law and Justice party of former prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski are ahead in the polls.
In just a few weeks, the new party has overtaken the Democratic Left Alliance, a long-established left-wing party whose base Palikot seems to be poaching, along with the agrarian Polish People’s Party, the current junior coalition partner.
His growing popularity appears to be due to frustration with the established parties, as well as growing support for gay rights and other liberal causes. Palikot says much of his support comes from younger Poles being mobilized to vote for the first time.
I can CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THAT SENTIMENT!
In an interview at his home in Warsaw, the 46-year-old laid out his vision, which centers on liberalizing both social and economic spheres. He said he wants to trim state regulations that stifle businesses and legalize a range of things - including marijuana - that he believes erode individual freedoms.
What was I going to type?
Some of his views are radical by the standards of Poland, a country where abortion remains illegal in most cases, where there is no legal recognition of gay partnerships, and where the Catholic Church still enjoys great influence in public life.
Now pull down those pants, boy.
Palikot said if his group wins a good showing in Parliament, his first step will be seeking the removal of a crucifix that hangs in the assembly hall of the Sejm, the lower house - an opening move in a drive for greater separation of church and state.
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"A new left-wing party, Palikot’s Movement, was in third place in the exit poll with just more than 10 percent. Despite Palikot’s strong showing, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said Civic Platform is interested in continuing its coalition with the Polish People’s Party, its junior partner of the past four years....
Then why did they get so much print?
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"Two men charged in IKEA bombings
WARSAW - Two Polish men have been arrested and charged with a string of bomb attacks at IKEA stores across Europe and trying to extort millions from the Swedish furniture chain, authorities said yesterday. The arrests shed light on a mysterious spate of bombings that had prompted the evacuation of shoppers and forced the retailer to beef up security around the continent. A handful of homemade bomb attacks occurred from May to September in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Two people were slightly injured in the German attack but there were no fatalities.
??????????
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