Polish presidential hopeful visits dead twin’s grave
The visit came on his and his brother Lech’s 61st birthday, and two days before Poles vote for a new president tomorrow.
Kaczynski, dressed in black and carrying red and white roses, descended into the crypt of Krakow’s Wawel Cathedral, where he placed the flowers at the honey-hued sarcophagus holding his brother and his sister-in-law, Maria. The candidate was joined by Marta, his niece and the first couple’s daughter.
“This is a very sad birthday for me,” he said.
Marta, 30, carried a note with a red heart drawn by one of her young daughters. “For Grandpa Leszek,” it said, using the late president’s nickname.
The president and first lady were among 96 killed in a plane crash in western Russia on April 10. The delegation, which included many high-ranking civilian and military leaders, was en route to a memorial service for Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces 70 years ago.
The day before, the other main presidential candidate, Bronislaw Komorowski, also paid his respects at the tomb.
Soon after his brother’s death, Jaroslaw Kaczynski decided to run in his place. saying he wanted to fulfill their shared mission of fighting crime and corruption, harnessing a strong state to protect the poor and other vulnerable Poles, and upholding Roman Catholic values.
The latest opinion polls show that Kaczynski faces an uphill battle to defeat Komorowski, the pro-business and pro-European parliament speaker and acting president. There are eight other candidates, but none has significant support.
Kaczynski is generally seen as the more charismatic candidate and the more expert politician, but many Poles carry bad memories of the chaotic government he led from 2006-2007, and of his zealousness in trying to punish former communist collaborators.
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