A power tussle between Poland's prime minister and president reached boiling point Wednesday as a squabble over flights to the Brussels European Union summit forced one leader to charter his own plane, according to dpa. For Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Lech Kaczynski, the spat over who was to sit at the table in Brussels was just the latest instalment in a personal and political power struggle. Tusk had arrived in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, and his plane was slated to return to Warsaw and pick up Kaczynski - but it stayed in Brussels. On Wednesday morning, Tusk's officials declined - by fax - another request from Kaczynski for two additional planes. So - hours before the summit, Kaczynski chartered his own flight. Panic rose by early afternoon as TV cameras in Warsaw pointed at the road leading to the capital's airport and commentators wondered if Kaczynski would depart, or make it on time to attend the meeting. Once he did arrive, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski left the summit, saying they had no desire to struggle over chairs at the Brussels table. "We are gentlemen," Rostowski said. "When the president arrived, we left the hall." "Europe doesn't know who it's dealing with," Sikorski said, adding that Poland woould not be able to speak with a unified voice with both Kaczynski and Tusk at the table. The infighting has blossomed into a full-blown political spectacle that has many in Poland laughing or shaking their heads. Amusement has turned into humiliation, as commentators claim the spat embarrasses Poland and damages its international credibility. Tusk's party said the EU summit should focus on the global financial crisis and energy - neither of which concern Kaczynski. Sikorski had even appealed to the president "on bended knee" to stay at home. Kaczynski had insisted it was "quite normal" for a president to join a prime minister at an EU summit. He wanted to be on hand for talks on Georgia and the union's Lisbon Treaty - matters on which he has always been outspoken. Like most countries, Poland has generally sent its prime minister to EU summits, with an agreement that the prime minister attend EU summits while the president heads Polish delegations at NATO summits. But Kaczynski said if Tusk wanted to attend NATO summits as well, then - "be my guest. I don't have anything against it."
