Self-Defence party to stay on in the governing coalition of Poland

July 10, 2007 Andrzej Lepper, the now-former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland announced on Tuesday that his party is "conditionally" staying on in the governing coalition. The only condition is to show "so-called serious proofs" of his guilt until this Friday. The crisis has media speculating that Poland's coalition government may fail and early elections be required.

Lepper told the journalists on his press conference that he want the so-called proofs to be shown: They say that there are some recordings, some tapes (...) so show them all, please.

Self-Defence stays on in the government, but, as he said, without him. He didn't want to disclose the name of his successor on the position of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In an interview for Polish news-only channel TVN24 Lepper said that the whole situation was faked by the Central Anticorruption Bureau and that there is no connection with him. He repeated also that he won't come back to the government again. I surely won't be the Minister of Agriculture anymore. (...) I won't come back to the government and I keep my word. (...) The post of the Deputy Prime Minister is waiting for me if these charges won't be confirmed, but I want to focus on work related to my party. (...) The Central Anticorruption Bureau has faked this affair from the very begining [sic]. (...) I have played no part in this issue. (...) If there really are proofs in this matter, why nobody showed them?

He explained why Self-Defence stays on in the governing coalition as well: We think that this coalition has still a lot of work to do.