Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller said on Tuesday he was quitting as leader of his ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) in a bid to improve the party's dismal opinion poll ratings.
A party spokesman said Miller would stay on as prime minister to focus on Poland's preparations to enter the European Union in May and push an austerity plan through parliament.
"Splitting the function of premier and party leader will give a new dynamism to the party's activities and will also mobilise the government," SLD spokesman Jerzy Wenderlich said.
Miller has come under pressure from his party to follow the example of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder - who quit as head of his Social Democratic party this month, after opinion polls showed support for the SLD at new lows of 12-13 percent due to sleaze scandals and botched health care reforms.
Wenderlich said Miller's departure from the SLD helm would not weaken the party's resolve to fully back the government's spending cuts programme, about to be discussed by parliament and seen as vital to stave off a fiscal crisis.
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