Poland's identical twins to consolidate power

WARSAW - Polish identical twin brothers Lech and Jaroslaw will firm their grip on power this week, with Lech due to be sworn in as prime minister by his president brother Jaroslaw.

In a surprise decision on Friday, Jaroslaw, leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, decided to replace popular Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz after clashing with him over appointments to state posts.

Kaczynski is due to be confirmed by parliament this week and appointed in a ceremony at the presidential palace.

Marcinkiewicz's departure and the consolidation of power in the hands of the Kaczynskis, 57, caused alarm among investors on Friday because they are viewed as prickly and combative traditionalists with little understanding of modern business.

EU diplomats and opposition figures saw Marcinkiewicz, barely eight months in office, as the leading voice of moderation in the cabinet and a guarantee that Poland would remain in the European mainstream.

The Kaczynskis see euro adoption, to which Poland is committed by the EU accession treaty, as a move that will limit hard-won national sovereignty and have a confrontational style in foreign policy that puts them at odds with EU partners.

Their governing alliance with anti-Western, far-right nationalists and fringe leftists earlier this year prompted concern among Poland's Western partners and led domestic critics to accuse the Kaczynskis of pushing Poland into isolation.

The Kaczynskis, former anti-communist activists, insist they are good Europeans, who are simply more assertive in defending national interests than their leftist and centrist predecessors who ruled since communism collapsed in 1989 until last year.

- REUTERS