Polish liberal stirs anger with call to remove cross
Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:08 GMT
By Chris Borowski
WARSAW, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The leader of a new ultra-liberal party called on Thursday for the removal of a wooden crucifix from the Polish parliament but drew a frosty response from both the prime minister and the conservative main opposition party.
Former vodka tycoon Janusz Palikot, whose party Palikot's Movement surged to become Poland's third largest political force in last Sunday's election, wants the symbol removed as part of his drive to reduce the clout of the Roman Catholic Church.
The church is revered by many Poles for its role in the overthrow of communism two decades ago with the backing of the "Polish pope", John Paul II. But a growing number of young Poles have balked at its influence in politics and everyday life.
"We respect the religious character of the cross. That is why it should not be pulled into political disputes and should not hang in the parliament," Palikot told a news conference.
Palikot's party has scandalised conservative Poles with its support for abortion, gay rights and legalisation of marijuana. Its 40 newly elected lawmakers include Poland's first transsexual MP and its first openly gay MP.
Tusk, whose liberal-conservative Civic Platform party (PO) won a second four-year term in Sunday's election, chastised Palikot, a former PO lawmaker, for his proposal.
"It makes a mockery of their calls for a friendly country to start their debut in parliament with a war over the cross," Tusk said.
The phrase 'war over the cross' recalls a dispute last year over another wooden cross erected in front of the presidential palace following the death of President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others in a 2010 plane crash in Russia.
Authorities moved the cross after several weeks to a nearby church despite angry protests by right-wing supporters of the late president and of his twin brother Jaroslaw Kaczynsk, who leads Poland's main oppposition party Law and Justice (PiS).
The cross in the parliament has hung above the entrance in the main chamber since 1997, when it was placed there one night by two conservative politicians.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, whose party came second in last weekend's election, defended the cross on Thursday as a symbol of Polish history and Christian-based culture.
"There is no reason to be ashamed that we're Catholics. Every country has its tradition and those who want to destroy it are destroying our nation," Kaczynski said.
If rejected, Palikot said he would take his demand to the constitutional tribunal and, ultimately, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. (Editing by Gareth Jones and Andrew Roche)
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