TROUBLESOME TWINS

They are, quite simple, the twins and identical ones, at that who now rule Poland. They are brothers in power. With one Kaczynski as president and another as prime minister, a rising nation could be in for a bumpy ride. Lech Kaczynski swore in his brother Jaroslaw as prime minister stripping away any pretense that anyone else is in charge. Poland before last year's elections was emerging as a key new player within NATO and EU, sending troops to Iraq and leading the European effort to support the Orange Revolution in neighboring Ukraine. Now it's mostly seen as a problem country, and increasingly, the twins are seen as the biggest problem of all. Judging by a new book of interviews with the twins conducted by Michael Karnowski and Piotr Zaremba, reporters for NEWS-WEEK's Polish edition, most of the battles they pick are less about ideas than perceived slights and settling scores. Longtime Solidarity activists during the communist era, the Kaczynski always resented the fact that they didn't get the same kind of recognition as many of their more glamorous colleagues. After the communist regime collapsed, they served newly elected President Lech Walesa-and promptly were at the center of infighting that shattered the old Solidarity camp. In the book Jaroslaw refers somewhat scornfully to " the myth" of the former Solidarity leader and makes clear his was purely an alliance of convenience.