Polish PM sacks deputy Lepper; coalition in doubt

WARSAW, July 9 (Reuters) Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski today sacked the head of his junior coalition partner, Andrzej Lepper, from his cabinet, over a corruption investigation.

Lepper promptly announced that his Self Defence party would quit the government.

Government spokesman Jan Dziedziczak told PAP news agency: ''The decision is based on facts revealed by the Central Anti-Corruption Office regarding large-scale corruption.'' He said two people had been arrested in connection with the investigation.

The surprise move threatens to deprive Kaczynski of a majority in parliament and prompt early elections two years after his conservative Law and Justice party formed an uneasy alliance with Lepper's rural Self-Defence and another nationalist party.

A senior Law and Justice source said Kaczynski would seek to keep Self-Defence in government, but Lepper said his party would leave.

''Self-Defence (party) will not take part in such government,'' Lepper said on Polish TVN24 television. ''In such a case, I believe there will be early elections.'' He denied any wrongdoing, saying the corruption inquiry apparently regarded some land deals.

Asked why he had been sacked, he said: ''I don't know. I need to sleep on it.'' The three-party coalition has been rocked by infighting since its inception, but few analysts expected it to break up before the next election, due in 2009.

Lepper's exit could change that.

''There could be early elections,'' said Marek Migalski, a sociologist at Silesia University. ''They don't have to happen immediately - we may go through a minority government.'' Reuters SZ SBA VP0207