Janusz Palikot

Janusz Marian Palikot (

Palikot is known in Poland for being one of the more controversial politicians, famous for his publicity stunts. In April 2007 during a PO press conference, Palikot wore a T-shirt with "I am with the SLD" ("Jestem z SLD") on the front and "I am gay" ("Jestem gejem") on the back. He later stated that he wanted to highlight the role PO should play in contemporary politics – as defenders of minorities.^[2]

On 24 April 2007, he produced a

On 23 July 2008, Palikot said in an interview "I consider the President to be an oaf" ("Uważam prezydenta za chama"), a potentially illegal act under Poland's anti-defamation laws. An investigation was launched,[4] then dropped.^[5]

In October 2008 during a TV interview about the

In January 2009 Palikot caused further controversy when he wrote in his blog questioning whether the Polish President's brother, Jarosław Kaczyński, is gay: "I – unasked – declare unequivocally that I prefer women. And you, Mr Jarosław?"^[7] As a result, Donald Tusk, the leader of Palikot's party, the Civic Platform, launched an investigation into his behaviour.

On 5 July 2010, one day after the second round of the

On 20 January 2012, Palikot threatened to smoke a joint in Parliament in an attempt to get soft drugs legalized in Poland.^[9]

Although he had openly declared himself a non-believer for many years, in 2012 Palikot publicly announced that he had committed apostasy from the Catholic church and encouraged his followers to do the same. Apostasy from the church is normally a taboo subject in Poland, although it became popular during the

In the summer of 2011, authorities of Central Anticorruption Bureau announced that Palikot was suspected of tampering with his property statements in the years 2005–2010. Palikot allegedly reported a lower level of wealth than he actually possessed, by millions of zlotys. His ex-wife supported the Bureau's efforts, stating that the politician provided false information.^[12] In an investigation, which was initiated by Maria Nowinska, prosecutor's office asked the government of The Netherlands Antilles for help, as Palikot is suspected of transferring part of his money to that country, which is a tax haven.^[13] In October 2010, internet portal www.niezalezna.pl wrote that Palikot owes large sums of money to different companies, institutions and people. Among others, he owes 40,000 zlotys to a private contractor, Andrzej Kwapis, who renovated his office, but was never paid for the work. Palikot did not pay the money to a company that maintained his webpage, nor did he pay Piotr Tymochowicz, a public relations specialist, who helped with creating his image.^[14] In October 2011, the Electoral Committee of Palikot Movement lost a court case against Pawel Tanajno, who had stated in Wprost weekly, that Palikot and his party act "like a mafia", paying people who service them only "50 percent or nothing". Justice Tomasz Wojciechowski said that refusing to pay bills was not "accidental, but rather a frequent practice". Wojciechowski emphasized that Palikot had planned "to gull people who trusted him", citing an e-mail, written by Palikot to chairwoman of his office, in which he mentioned "building the capital at the expense of suppliers".^[15]

In May 2009, Michał Majewski and Wojciech Cieśla of

• Płoną koty w Biłgoraju (autobiography), 2007,
  ISBN 978-83-7453-699-8
• Janusz Palikot,
  ISBN 83-89405-26-1
• Poletko Pana P., 2008,
  ISBN 978-83-7453-861-9
• Janusz Palikot, Pop-polityka, 2009,
  ISBN 978-83-7453-926-5
• Ja Palikot (interview by
  ISBN 978-83-7700-001-4
• Kulisy Platformy (interview by Anna Wojciechowska), 2011,
  ISBN 978-83-7700-026-7

• Members of Polish Sejm 2005-2007

References