Polish PM under pressure over "Polish Watergate"

WARSAW, Aug 29 (Reuters) Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski faced a growing outcry today over accusations his secret services had spied on politicians, an affair some commentators have branded a ''Polish Watergate''.

Ex-prime minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz joined the fray, saying in media interviews he had grounds to suspect he was spied on when in office and that Poland had become an ''Orwellian state'' -- a reference to ''1984'', a novel by George Orwell describing a future totalitarian state.

''I cannot rule out that I was eavesdropped on,'' he told private tvn television late yesterday. ''We are living in an Orwellian state and we need to be aware of that.'' Kaczynski is pushing for a snap election in October after the acrimonious collapse of his coalition with fringe anti-EU parties, which deprived him of a majority in parliament.

The main opposition parties have agreed to hold an election two years early but want a parliamentary inquiry first into the spying allegations and what they call abuse of power by Kaczynski and his twin brother Lech, the president.

The allegations were fuelled by former interior minister Janusz Kaczmarek, sacked in July, and by Kaczynski's ex-coalition partners.

Kaczynski has dismissed their charges as a ''pile of rubbish'' aimed at discrediting his anti-corruption crusade.

But Marcinkiewicz, in another interview, in today's conservative daily Dziennik, said he had evidence that a senior Law and Justice official had tried to persuade the internal intelligence agency to put him under surveillance, but that the request had been denied.

Marcinkiewicz, one of Poland's most popular politicians, declined to say who had wanted to spy on him. He was forced to resign as prime minister in July 2006 because of policy differences with Kaczynski, the party leader, who replaced him.

INVESTIGATION DEMANDED A visibly angry Kaczynski said Marcinkiewicz was ''telling fairy tales'', but the opposition seized on the remarks.

''What we have here is governing with the use of special services, governing through surveillance -- methods that in a democratic country are forbidden,'' said former president Aleksander Kwasniewski, who heads the centre-left opposition.

Polish media have also attacked the government, saying the accusations must be thoroughly investigated.

''This could become one of the biggest political scandals in independent Poland,'' said Dziennik. ''We would like to believe that this is not true. But this matter needs to be explained thoroughly.'' Opinion polls show that despite a booming economy and falling unemployment, Law and Justice faces an uphill battle to remain in power after a two-year rule marked by conflicts inside the cabinet and rows with EU partners.

Parliament will vote next week on whether to dissolve itself to permit an October election.

Some opposition leaders suggested they might vote against the motion, which requires broad support, unless the spying affair was properly investigated.

REUTERS SY RAI2114