Poland's opposition accused the ruling Kaczynski twins on Wednesday of imitating Russian President Vladimir Putin in their quest to strengthen their grip on power after a snap election on October 21.
Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said this week he would seek support in the next parliament to change the constitution to give more powers to the nation's president, currently his twin brother Lech. "These proposals are a disgrace," Wojciech Oleniczak, leader of the Left and Centre alliance told a news conference. "It seems the prime minister is imitating Putin."
Putin said this week he could become prime minister after leaving office later this year, raising suspicions he might change the Russian constitution to keep power in his hands. The constitutional changes that Kaczynski seeks in the former Soviet bloc nation, which is now in the European Union, would make it easier for the president to dissolve parliament and rule by decree.
Such changes would also weaken the Constitutional Tribunal, which has struck down a number of controversial laws the government passed since coming to power in 2005. The Kaczynskis already wield great power in Poland, the only democratic country where two top posts are held not only within one party but within one family.
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