Poland is in mourning after a plane crash Saturday killed the European nation’s president, lawmakers, key officials, and military chiefs. Now surviving members of Poland’s government face the delicate task of trying to pick up the pieces and rebuild its leadership even as victims of the crash have yet to be buried.
Much of the attention has turned to Bronislaw Komorowski, the speaker of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament. From the L.A. Times:
In Poland’s ravaged leadership structure, Komorowski has been shoved into multiple, overlapping roles: He is acting president, as stipulated by the constitution; speaker of the parliament; and the only survivor of the three main candidates in the presidential election that had been set for October.
Komorowski is to start consultations with the parties Tuesday, and is then expected to reset the date of the election for June.
Poland has weathered the financial crisis relatively well. Last year, it was the only country in the European Union to show economic growth, and the International Monetary Fund says the Polish economy is expected to grow around 3% — a success story in Europe, where Greek debt has dragged other nations down. Listen to our story about how Greece managed to get into such a financial mess here.
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