Poland's presidential candidate Lech Kaczynski sacked his campaign manager for saying the family of rival Donald Tusk had ties to Nazi Germany's army during World War Two.
After a day of controversy and amid signs the campaign was turning nasty, Kaczynski stepped in and sacked Jacek Kurski, the campaign manager who had made the allegations.
In a presidential debate later on Tuesday, Kaczynski said: "Today I must apologise to Donald Tusk for the elements of black PR in the campaign."
Kurski will face an intra-party disciplinary hearing for the accusations. Kaczynski, a conservative, trailed free-market enthusiast Tusk by a bit in the first round of voting last Sunday and the two will face off in a run-off on Oct. 23.
Any hint of collaboration with Nazi Germany is damaging in Poland, which was occupied by Hitler's troops and lost millions of citizens during the war.
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