Nazi Claims and Sex Scandal Threaten Polish Government

Poland's accident-prone government was under pressure to dissolve parliament and call early elections yesterday after a sex scandal in one part of its coalition and neo-Nazi revelations in another.

The prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the centre-right Law and Justice party, called off a scheduled visit to neighbouring Lithuania to try to deal with the fallout as he considered cutting a deal with the main opposition.

The Civic Platform opposition party has offered a pact - sack the allegedly compromised government members and call early elections for the spring, and it will prop up the government until then and support the budget next week.

The sex scandal centres on a leftwing populist, the deputy prime minister, Andrzej Lepper, who is alleged to have offered party jobs for sexual favours. The national prosecutor's office is investigating allegations made this week by a woman who said she spent two nights with Mr Lepper and had sex with other figures in his Self-Defence party in return for a political job.

Aneta Krawczyk told the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper that one of Mr Lepper's closest associates, Stanislaw Lyzwinski, had fathered her daughter three years ago. Mr Lyzwinski has had a paternity test.

Mr Lepper denied the allegations and rounded on Ms Krawczyk. "Maybe she has had bad luck in life. She does not have a husband and each of her three children are from separate men. Is this the kind of person that is taken to be a model citizen today?"

Since the allegations, other women have gone to the Polish media with similar tales of sexual harassment within the party that Mr Lepper leads.

If the prosecutor's office brings charges against Mr Lepper, the government is almost certain to fall. He almost brought down the government this year by resigning, but was offered concessions by Mr Kaczynski to rejoin the cabinet and keep the administration afloat.

Last week another Polish paper published pictures of a meeting of the League of Polish Families - an extreme right junior coalition partner led by the education minister, Roman Giertych - featuring swastikas and Sieg Heil chants. The revelations provoked outrage in the country that was invaded first by the Nazis and where six million were killed in the war.

Law and Justice came to power last year promising a "moral revolution" based on family values. Mr Kaczynski became prime minister this year, completing a double act with his identical twin, Lech, who is the president. The scandals are immensely damaging to a duo pledged to the moral renewal of Poland.

Donald Tusk, Civic Platform's leader, says Mr Kaczynski must fire Mr Lepper and Mr Giertych to gain his support. His offer may be attractive to Mr Kaczynski, as the two small parties could haemorrhage votes in an election. The prime minister's party could be the main beneficiary.