Polish Speaker Offers to Resign
The speaker of Poland's Parliament, Jozef Oleksy, offered to resign on Wednesday, a party spokesman said, after a court said he had worked for the country's Communist-era secret services.
Mr. Oleksy, a former prime minister who leads the governing Democratic Left Alliance, said he would give up the speaker's post if his party agreed on a replacement acceptable to all other parties before Parliament reconvenes Jan. 5, said the party spokesman, Boguslaw Cieslak.
A special court ruled last week that Mr. Oleksy was a paid informer for Polish military intelligence from 1970 to 1978 and later hid his activity. He denies the spying charges.
Mr. Oleksy served as prime minister in 1995 and 1996. He quit amid accusations that he spied for Moscow, although prosecutors ruled there was insufficient evidence for a criminal investigation.
The opposition, leading in polls, hopes it can force early elections this spring by pressuring Parliament to dissolve. Mr. Oleksy's demand to stay until all agree on a replacement appears to be directed at warding off further turmoil that the opposition could exploit.