Polish president names identical twin as PM

Polish President Lech Kaczynski (L) congratulates his identical twin brother Jaroslaw Kaczynski (R) just after he nominated him as a new Polish Prime Minister in Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Monday. PHOTO: AFP

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the head of the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, now has two weeks to name his new cabinet and put forward an agenda for governing Poland.

The widely expected announcement that the president wants his brother to lead the government came shortly after Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz submitted his resignation -- just nine months after being nominated for premier -- and it was accepted by Lech Kaczynski.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski quickly pledged he would pursue a tough line in the EU, focusing on Poland's interests as a nation state.

At the same time, he sought to reassure markets, vowing he would continue public finance reforms.

If lawmakers confirm Jaroslaw, 57, as premier, he will be breaking a vow he made during his brother's successful presidential election campaign last year.

Jaroslaw said then that he would not take up the post of prime minister if Lech were elected president, because neither the Polish people nor Poland's international partners would tolerate a fraternal double act in the two key positions of Polish politics.

Born 45 minutes apart -- Jaroslaw first -- in Warsaw, the Kaczynski twins were inseparable growing up, and their lives continued to follow parallel paths as adults.

Both studied law at the University of Warsaw. They were together in the anti-communist opposition and when the Solidarity trade union was born.

In 2001, they co-founded the conservative PiS party, which scored the best result in Poland's general election last September.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski has said that his new government will be the same as that of Marcinkiewicz, apart from a new finance minister.

On Sunday, Kaczynski said he had invited deputy finance minister Stanislaw Kluza, 34, a former chief economist for Polish bank BGZ, to take up that post, replacing Pawel Wojciechowski, who was appointed by Marcinkiewicz.

The Polish zloty regained ground Monday on news of the likely change at the head of government, trading at 4.05 to the euro and 3.180 to the dollar at 4:30 pm (1430 GMT).