Mr Miller's government has been accused of graft
One of Poland's leading companies has alleged it is the victim of a whispering campaign, as a scandal over governmental and corporate corruption mounts. In an unusually strongly worded statement, Agora, a publishing company which owns the leading independent daily Gazeta Wyborcza, hit out at press reports accusing it of insider trading. Company officials had reportedly sold Agora shares ahead of a Gazeta Wyborcza story implicating media executives and government officials in conspiring to change Polish law to their advantage. "These attacks are stemming from an unclear source and appear to be an element in a concerted campaign on the part of individuals whose interests were threatened by... Gazeta Wyborcza," the firm said.
Agora's statement relates to a major expose run by Gazeta Wyborcza earlier in January. A prominent Polish film producer had asked Agora for a bribe to amend rules on media takeovers, the newspaper wrote, printing transcripts of the conversation. The story caused a considerable scandal in Poland, since it claimed to uncover a web of bribe-taking reaching up to the highest political levels. But while Agora has stood by the newspaper's story, it denied later reports that it had attempted to profit from it. Rival media organisations accused Agora managers of having sold company shares ahead of the Gazeta story, assuming that it would dent the price. According to Agora, these reports were inspired by those threatened by the initial Gazeta report. "[The Gazeta story] damages the interests of the people that live in Poland on corruption - and those who felt intimidated are counterattacking," the firm said.
The row over Poland's media law is the second major scandal to hit the left-wing government of Leszek Miller, who took office in October 2001. A year ago, there was a furore over the government's alleged attempts to force out political opponents in the management of the country's biggest oil company. Mr Miller and President Aleksander Kwasniewski - his close political ally - have flatly rejected any hint of corruption. But the newspaper allegations have provoked considerable embarrassment in light of the country's application to join the European Union. While corruption has been dramatically reduced in other EU candidate countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, it is still seen as a problem in Poland. Poland's frequent changes of government, combined with the still-extensive involvement of the state in big business, combine to produce numerous corporate and political scandals. |