Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz has dismissed three government ministers and the speaker of parliament as she seeks to restore voter trust in her center-right government before legislative elections later this year.
Kopacz, stunned by last month's surprise election defeat of presidential incumbent and ally Bronislaw Komorowski, announced the dismissals Wednesday, in a push to regain public confidence in her Civic Platform Party.
The most high-profile casualty of Wednesday's purge is speaker Radoslaw Sikorski. He is one of the central figures secretly recorded in high-end Warsaw restaurants debating political deals with lobbyists and businesspeople.
Analysts say the 2014 release of the tapes contributed significantly to the May 24 Komorowski defeat. Since then, opinion polls have shown the once-dominant Civic Platform Party trailing well behind the conservative opposition Law and Justice Party.
The tapes - leaked to a weekly magazine - also show the attendees joking and making disparaging comments about colleagues, foreign governments and foreign leaders.
Polish radio said the recordings, made by at least two restaurant waiters, included confidential conversations involving central banker Marek Belka.
