Marek Kuchciński (pictured above), the speaker of the lower chamber of the Polish parliament (Sejm) has announced that he will resign from his post after it turned out that his family used a government jet several times for private travel.

At the same time, I would like to point out that during my activities I did not violate the law,” Mr. Kuchciński said, adding that he would step down later this week.

Jaroslaw Kaczyński, the leader of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) praised the outgoing speaker’s decision, however, he criticized Poland’s former prime minister Donald Tusk for allegedly doing the same, flying to his electoral district with a government jet and his family on board.

Mr. Kuchciński’s resignation comes after intense criticism for using his government jet for private purposes, with his family even taking the plane without the speaker’s presence. He later publicly apologized and promised to pay the costs of the travel. </s> The speaker of the Polish parliament is resigning after a scandal erupted over private use of a government plane by him and his family, AP reports. The affair was threatening to damage the reputation of the right-wing ruling party, Law and Justice, ahead of elections in October.

Speaker Marek Kuchcinski made his announcement on Thursday standing alongside party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Polish politics have for days been consumed by an affair dubbed “Air Kuchcinski.”

The media and political opponents had revealed that the speaker frequently flew by government jet from Warsaw to his home city Rzeszow, 280km (175 miles) to the south.

Kaczynski has since tightened rules about the official use of government aircraft. </s> Poland's parliament speaker resigns over use of govt flights

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The speaker of the Polish parliament says he is resigning after a scandal erupted over his and his family's private use of a government plane.

The affair was threatening to damage the reputation of the right-wing ruling party, Law and Justice, ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

Polish politics have for days been consumed by an affair dubbed "Air Kuchcinski" after the media and political opponents revealed that the speaker frequently flew by government jet from Warsaw to his home city of Rzeszow, some 280 kilometers (175 miles) to the south.

Kaczynski has since tightened rules about the official use of government flights. </s> Poland's parliament speaker resigns over use of govt flights

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The speaker of the Polish parliament said Thursday that he is resigning after a scandal erupted over his and his family's frequent use of government planes.

The affair was threatening to damage the reputation of the right-wing ruling party, Law and Justice, ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

Speaker Marek Kuchcinski said his resignation would take effect on Friday. He made the announcement at the party's headquarters alongside party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Kuchcinski insisted that he had done nothing wrong and had simply flown a lot in order to meet the residents of small towns far from the capital. But he said that "because public opinion evaluates my conduct in a negative way, I decided that I could no longer fulfil this function."

Polish politics have for days been consumed by the affair that has been dubbed "Air Kuchcinski." The speaker was revealed to have flown by government jet from Warsaw to his home city of Rzeszow, some 280 kilometers (175 miles) to the south. In one case, his wife was reportedly the sole passenger of a flight.

During Thursday's news conference, Kaczynski said the speaker had not broken the law, but that his party was keen to respond to public anger and show that it sticks to high ethical standards.

Kaczynski said the key problem was there was a lack of clear regulations for the use by officials of government flights, and noted that former prime minister, Donald Tusk, now a top European Union leader, also took numerous flights with his wife between Warsaw and his home city of Gdansk. He said that "rigorous" new rules will now be put in place.

Opinion polls show Law and Justice as the most popular political force in the country ahead of the elections scheduled for Oct. 13.

The district prosecutor's office in Warsaw announced Wednesday that it was investigating possible irregularities in connection with Kuchcinski's flights. </s> Jaroslaw Kaczynski,right, the head of Poland's ruling party, and parliament speaker Marek Kuchcinski after at a news conference where Kuchcinski announces his resignation in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday Aug. 8, 2019. Kuchcinski's resignation was prompted by public anger over his and his family's frequent use of government aircraft. Kuchcinski and Kaczynski insisted that the speaker had broken no law and did nothing wrong but that they were acting in response to the public anger.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish lawmakers have chosen a new parliamentary speaker as the ruling populist party seeks to move past a scandal over the frequent use of a government jet by the previous speaker and his family.

A majority of lawmakers in the lower house of parliament voted on Friday to make Elzbieta Witek, who was the interior minister until earlier in the day, the new speaker.

She replacess Marek Kuchcinski, who announced Thursday that he would resign because public anger over his flights was preventing him from carrying out his job. He insisted he had done nothing wrong.

The affair threatened the reputation of the ruling party, Law and Justice, ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

Prosecutors announced this week that they are investigating possible irregularities in connection with Kuchcinski's flights. </s> Jaroslaw Kaczynski,right, the head of Poland’s ruling party, and parliament speaker Marek Kuchcinski after at a news conference where Kuchcinski announces his resignation in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday Aug. 8, 2019. Kuchcinski’s resignation was prompted by public anger over his and his family’s frequent use of government aircraft. Kuchcinski and Kaczynski insisted that the speaker had broken no law and did nothing wrong but that they were acting in response to the public anger.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The speaker of the Polish parliament said Thursday that he is resigning after a scandal erupted over his and his family’s frequent use of government planes.

The affair was threatening to damage the reputation of the right-wing ruling party, Law and Justice, ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

Speaker Marek Kuchcinski said his resignation would take effect on Friday. He made the announcement at the party’s headquarters alongside party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Kuchcinski insisted that he had done nothing wrong and had simply flown a lot in order to meet the residents of small towns far from the capital. But he said that “because public opinion evaluates my conduct in a negative way, I decided that I could no longer fulfil this function.”

Polish politics have for days been consumed by the affair that has been dubbed “Air Kuchcinski.” The speaker was revealed to have flown often by government jet from Warsaw to his home city of Rzeszow, some 280 kilometers (175 miles) to the south. In one case, his wife was reportedly the sole passenger of a flight.

During Thursday’s news conference, Kaczynski said the speaker had not broken the law, but that his party was keen to respond to public anger and show that it sticks to high ethical standards.

Kaczynski said the key problem was a lack of clear regulations for the use by officials of government flights, and noted that former prime minister, Donald Tusk, now a top European Union leader, also took numerous flights with his wife between Warsaw and his home city of Gdansk. He said that new rules will now be put in place.

Opinion polls show Law and Justice as the most popular political force in the country ahead of the elections scheduled for Oct. 13.

The district prosecutor’s office in Warsaw announced Wednesday that it was investigating possible irregularities in connection with Kuchcinski’s flights. </s> The speaker of Poland's parliament tendered his resignation on Thursday after the opposition accused him of using government planes for personal travel, sparking a scandal as the country gears up for elections

Warsaw, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP - 8th Aug, 2019 ) :The speaker of Poland's parliament tendered his resignation on Thursday after the opposition accused him of using government planes for personal travel, sparking a scandal as the country gears up for elections.

Marek Kuchcinski told reporters in Warsaw that he intends "to resign from the post of speaker of parliament tomorrow", but insisted that he had not broken any laws. </s> Poland’s parliament speaker said on Thursday (8 August) he would resign after it was revealed that he used government aircraft for private trips, suggesting the ruling nationalists aimed to defuse a scandal that could affect their re-election campaign.

With elections set for October, the affair has embarrassed the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has said it is cleaning up an alleged legacy of corruption and communist influence tolerated by previous governments.

“I plan to submit my resignation tomorrow,” Marek Kuchcinski told a news conference alongside PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, three days after the speaker apologised for using a government Gulfstream jet for 23 flights with his family.

“We believe that given we are building very high standards in public life, conclusions must be drawn and above all we need to listen to public opinion,” said Kaczynski, who has no formal government post but is seen as Poland’s most powerful figure.

A poll published by Super Express tabloid on Thursday showed that almost two-third of Poles wanted Kuchcinski gone. Local media speculated that his deputy Ryszard Terlecki, another senior PiS politician, will take over as speaker.

Political analysts said that until Thursday the PiS had adopted a wait-and-see approach on Kuchcinski, hoping the scandal would die off amidst the summer holiday lull.

But after further media revelations of flights on government aircraft by his relatives and discrepancies in explanations by Kuchcinski and the government, the potential damage became too serious to gloss over.

“There was a threat of an erosion of voters who have joined PiS only recently and a risk that PiS could lose its absolute majority in parliament, hence the decision to let the speaker go,” said Warsaw University political scientist Rafal Chwedoruk.

He cited a spate of negative memes on the Internet about “frequent-flyer” Kuchcinski, showing him walking a dog using a helicopter or stuck at work until late and irritably telling his wife by phone: “Where am I? On a plane, of course.”

The PiS has clung to a clear lead in recent opinion polls, driven by robust economic growth, a generous social spending programme and its championing of traditional conservative values. That combination has helped the PiS avoid serious political damage despite several financial scandals.

A survey taken by IBRiS pollster before the speaker scandal broke gave PiS 41.7% if elections were held now, with the main opposition bloc, the centrist Civic Platform, at 25% and a group of leftist parties at 10.2%. </s> Poland's speaker of parliament was forced to quit Thursday as the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party scrambled to contain a growing political crisis ahead of an October 13 election.

Marek Kuchciński, a senior PiS member, announced that he will resign as speaker of Poland’s lower chamber of parliament after the opposition accused him of taking more than 100 flights on a government jet — mainly to his home town of Rzeszów — often accompanied by family members, other politicians, friends and officials.

“During my activity, I didn’t break the law,” he told reporters, adding that he decided to resign as “the public has negatively assessed” his trips. Prosecutors are investigating the flights.

The trigger was pulled by Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of PiS who holds no official office but is the country's de facto ruler.

Initially Kaczyński hoped to ride out the storm. On Monday, Kuchciński addressed the public, trying to explain the reasons for the flights and apologizing to “anyone who felt offended” by his actions. He also published what he claimed was the full list of the flights he'd taken.

But since then, the scandal has escalated, as it turns out that Kuchciński was accompanied not only by family members but also his assistants and other PiS MPs and their wives. According to the published list, described by many Polish journalists as incomplete and selective, the reasons for his flights ranged from attending a harvest festival to opening a badminton center.

One MP explained that he took a flight with Kuchciński because he was transporting medicines for his wife, adding that any Pole who needed similar transport would have been able to climb aboard with the speaker.

The result has been an outpouring of memes poking fun at the party, and renewed attacks by the opposition.

While PiS has dealt with many scandals during its more than three years in power, the others haven't done much to dent the party's popularity. But the image of a senior politician jetting around the country at taxpayers' expense is potentially much more damaging.

Kaczyński stressed that the speaker hadn't broken any laws but told reporters: "Because you think otherwise, I have to say that the decision of the speaker is proof of our slogan: 'We listen to Poles.'"

“We think that if we demand and we build very high standard of public life, we need to draw our conclusions and, most of all, we need to listen to the public,” he said.

Kaczyński tried to shift the scandal onto its leading rival, the opposition Civic Platform party, and its former leader and current European Council chief, Donald Tusk.

“The rules have to be the same for everyone,” he added, referring to the flights taken by Tusk when he was prime minister. PiS published the full list of Tusk’s flights.

He said that Tusk took 281 flights to his home town of Gdańsk and back during six years and 10 months of his term, and also travelled to “exotic countries” together with his wife. “[These countries were] attractive as a touristic destination but we could debate the political sense of these trips … I will now expect you get interested in this,” he said.
Marek Kuchciński, speaker of the Sejm in Poland, announces his resignation after admitting the use of a government jet for 23 personal flights.