Questions over top Polish politician’s absence from campaign
FILE - Poland’s deputy prime minister and head of the ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski speaks during a news conference with Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 22, 2022. The absence of Kaczynski from early electoral campaigning has raised questions about the health of the 73-year-old ruling party leader. Kaczynski, who was touring Poland last fall and meeting with potential voters, has not returned to campaigning after his December knee surgery, against earlier plans. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The absence of Poland’s top politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, from early electoral campaigning has raised questions about the health of the 73-year-old leader of the ruling party.
Kaczynski, who was touring Poland last fall and meeting with potential voters, has not returned to campaigning after December knee surgery.
He was expected back on tour in early February, but now some party members are saying it will be mid-April. Poland is to hold a general election in the fall.
The Onet.pl portal Tuesday cited Kaczynski aides as saying he developed sepsis after the surgery which undercut his energy.
Kaczynski is Poland’s policy maker and most powerful politician, despite holding no government office. He is the founder and leader of the right-wing Law and Justice party that has ruled since 2015, with small coalition partners.
His twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, was killed in a plane crash in Russia in 2010.