How much does new minister know about sport?

Andrzej Biernat: photo - PAP/Leszek Szymański

Prime Minister Donald Tusk appointed Andrzej Biernat to replaced the much-criticised Joanna Mucha to lead the Ministry of Sport and Tourism amid a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle.

Mucha had been under fire since she was first appointed to the post in late 2011, with critics saying she had no knowledge or experience dealing with sports administration.

But when her replacement was asked by a journalist from the TVN 24 news channel to name Thomas Bach, elected as new president of the International Olympic Committee in September, Biernat was unable to do so, citing a “small lapse in memory”.

Former Polish international goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski – who is associated politically with the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party - claimed that Biernat “knows as much about sport as Joanna Mucha” and the little he does know comes from “reading comics when he was a kid”.

As vice-chairman of the parliamentary commission of sport, the 53 year-old Biernat often criticized Joanna Mucha’s performance as sports minister.

"I'm a big fan of many sports,” he writes on his web site, adding that he “is most passionate about football”

With Poland failing to qualify for the World Cup next year and Poland’s less than sterling performance during the 2012 Olympics, the new minister will be busy trying to revive an ailing sports sector. (pg)