PM questioned

7th February 2010

© PAP Tusk testifies before commission Share:

Prime Minister Donald Tusk began testifying this week before a commission set up to investigate allegations that members of the Civic Platform party (PO) lobbied on behalf of various gambling companies.

While one government spokesman said that Tusk would not be providing any ‘new or spectacular’  information or evidence to the case, the PM allowed for the whole of Thursday for the testimony and stated that the commission would “not be easing off”.

In total, four top politicians left their posts in October last year over the gambling scandal following claims that some had lobbied to block provisions in a bill which would have seen the taxes paid to the state by the gambling industry increase.

The head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau was sacked by Tusk, due to allegations that he had abused the power entrusted to him during an investigation in 2007. Three more politicians handed in their resignations that day; the deputy prime minister, the justice minister and the deputy economy minister.

The PM’s testimony comes only days after he revealed that he would not be in the running for Presidency come Autumn. Instead, he said, he would prefer to work at maintaining the nation’s economic development and growth, as oppose to trying to compete for the ‘prestige and honour’ that is associated with being President.