Mourning Poland prepares for fresh political rows

POLAND steeled itself yesterday for a return to political wrangling after burying president Lech Kaczynski, as hundreds of mourners bid a final farewell at his tomb.

Lawmakers are this week set to announce June 20 as the date for presidential elections after Kaczynski and 95 others died in a plane crash in Russia, while other top posts left vacant by the accident must also be filled.

Around 150,000 mourners thronged Krakow on Sunday for the funerals of Kaczynski and his wife Maria, who were buried alongside kings, national heroes and poets at the historic Wawel Castle.