Sunday, October 07, 2007

Polish premier doesn't have a driving licence

After announcing he doesn't have a bank account and hands his salary over to his mother, Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski Tuesday had another revelation: he doesn't hold a driving licence.

"I admit that I don't have a licence, which I regret," the 58-year-old premier told reporters who were accompanying him on the election campaign trail.

Asked if he planned to learn to drive, Kaczynski replied: "In life, nothing is impossible."

"Maybe I'll do it one day but, to tell the truth, I haven't thought about it," he said.

Kaczynski's comments came as he was quizzed about his conservative government's record on road construction, which has become a campaign issue ahead of Poland's October 21 snap parliamentary elections.

Poland currently lacks a national motorway network, and there are growing jitters over the chances of having one in place in time for the 2012 European football championships, which Poland is due to co-host with Ukraine.

In May, Kaczynski who is unmarried and lives with his mother, revealed that he had never opened a bank account and that she held the purse-strings.

Kaczynski said he had chosen not to open an account to avoid the risk that anyone trying to conjure up a scandal might transfer funds into it and then try to discredit him.

Kaczynski's married identical twin, Lech Kaczynski, is president of Poland.

The brothers, who founded Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party, won the country's presidential and parliamentary elections in 2005 after campaigning on an anti-corruption platform.

PiS has revived the anti-graft message in the latest election battle, which began after parliament was dissolved following the collapse of Jaroslaw Kaczynski's coalition government in August.
Link