Life and death of Andrzej Lepper
PR dla Zagranicy
Monika Greszta
08.08.2011 15:00
The Warsaw prosecution will be monitoring the investigation into the causes of the death of Andrzej Lepper. The leader of the rural Self Defence Union was found dead in his office on Friday, police confirm that he had commited suicide.
Andrzej Lepper made a name for himself leading hunger strikes in the 1990's against farm repossessions and roadblocks for better deals for the farming community. His maverick, populist style won him many supporters who felt excluded by the post-communist establishment and he eventually entered parliament as an MP under the Self Defence banner.
Lepper's political career reached a peak when his party entered into a coalition with Law and Justice after the 2005 general election, he became agricultural minister and deputy prime minister. His political career was abruptly put to an end with the surfacing of corruption and sex scandals.
Lepper was a charismatic personality for some and a highly controversial figure for others.
Agnieszka Bielawska spoke to Wawrzyniec Konarski, professor of political sciences at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and the Warsaw Higher School of Political Sciences, asking him first how will Andrzej Lepper be remembered.