XPost: soc.culture.polish, talk.politics.guns, talk.politics.misc
XPost: alt.politics.liberalism, can.politics, sac.politics
Power in Poland is up for grabs, after an exit poll predicted the
populist ruling party would lose its parliamentary majority in a
bitter and high-stakes national election.
The Law and Justice party, known by its Polish acronym PiS, was
projected to win the most seats after Sunday’s vote.
But it fell some way short of a parliamentary majority, and the
opposition bloc – led by former Polish prime minister and European
Council president Donald Tusk – appeared to have a path to power if
it struck deals with smaller parties.
Both Tusk and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the PiS chairman and Poland’s de
facto leader, attempted to declare victory on Sunday night. In
reality, however, days of negotiations may lie ahead until the
make-up of the country’s new government becomes clear.
“The exit poll results give us the fourth victory in the history of
our party in the parliamentary elections and the third victory in a
row; this is a great success of our formation and our project for
Poland,” Kaczynski told supporters.
A smaller coalition called Third Way may end up as kingmakers. The
centrist bloc has criticized both major parties, arguing that
neither represents Poland’s best path forward. But its leader Szymon Hołownia has long lambasted the performance of PiS, and insisted he
would not pursue a pact with the incumbent party.
The outcome of this election could have major ramifications for
Poland’s future direction, the balance of power in the European
Union and the future of the war in Ukraine.
PiS, which has been mired in bitter spats with the EU during its
eight years in power, was seeking a third consecutive electoral
success – an unprecedented feat since Poland regained its
independence from the Soviet Union.
The party has been accused by the EU and Polish opposition figures
of dismantling Poland’s democratic institutions during its time in
power. PiS has brought the Polish judiciary, public media and
cultural bodies under greater government control, and has taken a
hard line against abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights.
During a bitter campaign, the party shot back at Tusk’s opposition
coalition, claiming the former leader would be subservient to
Brussels and Berlin if he returned to power.
High inflation and the security of Poland’s borders have been front
of mind for voters during the campaign. Developments were also
watched in Kyiv, after a tense period that saw relations between the
two close allies sour.
Poland has been a crucial partner to Ukraine as it fights Russian
forces in its east, but Warsaw was intensely critical of Ukraine’s
government during a dispute over the imports of Ukrainian grain.
Voters were electing members of both houses of Poland’s parliament,
with 231 seats in the Sejm – Warsaw’s lower house – needed for a
party to clinch power outright.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/15/europe/poland-election-voting-
intl/index.html
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