The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
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Artykuł pochodzi z pisma "New Warsaw Express"
Public television chairman Robert Kwiatkowski, spattered with mud from the Rywingate scandal, announced last week that he won't seek another term in office. But despite a selection procedure that was meant to find an apolitical technocrat to replace him, it looks almost certain that the supervisory board will pick a successor from the ruling centre-left.
After Kwiatkowski dropped out of the race, the board short-listed three candidates, with a final decision due Jan. 27: Ryszard Paclawski, linked with the ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD); Andrzej Budzynski, seen as the favourite of the SLD's agrarian former coalition partner, the Polish Peasants Party (PSL), and Piotr
Gawel, head of a Catholic charity foundation. Since the beginning of last year, Kwiatkowski has faced calls to step down, most notably from the parliamentary committee investigating Rywingate – in which film producer Lew Rywin is accused of soliciting a bribe for a "group holding power" in exchange for changes to a media law.
Accused in the Rywin scandal, Kwiatkowski at first refused to go quietly, prompting the board to announce a competition to select a chairman. Kwiatkowski entered the race, but dropped out at the last minute this week, with most observers saying he had finally realized he didn't stand a chance.
No matter who the board chooses, TVP – like a number of other European public broadcasters – looks set to remain a hotbed of political patronage, with each party squealing about discrimination when it's out of power, but somehow never managing to reform the system once it gets its hands on the reins again.
ANDREW POWERS