POLAND:Poland's former defence minister Radek Sikorski has defected to the opposition Civic Platform (PO) ahead of next month's snap election, inflicting a blow to the re-election hopes of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the prime minister.
Mr Sikorski, a former dissident who studied in Oxford and is well-connected in Washington, said he was "disappointed" by Mr Kaczynski's style in power.
"I didn't change, circumstances changed," said Mr Sikorski.
He resigned as defence minister in February from the Law and Justice (PiS)-led coalition, which has been characterised by constant political conflict at home and with EU partners.
"I still want a strong Poland in Europe - modern and honest," he said. "But today I think that Civic Platform will best implement this vision."
With PiS and PO neck-and-neck in polls, Mr Sikorski could be a candidate for prime minister in a PO-lead government. That would allow party leader Donald Tusk to have a second chance at the presidency in 2010.
Although more moderate than Mr Kaczynski, Mr Sikorski is no stranger to strong rhetoric. Last year he compared a Russian-German gas pipeline deal that bypassed Poland to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.