It was called both an election of destiny and the most important election in Europe in 2023. The conservative Law and Justice party PiS was again by far the largest party in Sunday’s parliamentary election in Poland last Sunday. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has then also declared himself and his party the victor. The only problem is that they do not have the clear majority that they got in the election in 2019. Opposition march in Poland: – I am here to fight for women’s rights – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries The end of evil “This means the end of the time of evil” said the leader of the “Citizen Platform” Donald Tusk to his supporters on Sunday evening. Election day polls indicate that Tusk and two other opposition parties have enough representatives to gain a majority in the parliament Sejmen to form a new government. The election in Poland has been watched with suspicious eyes throughout Europe, not least in the EU headquarters in Brussels. The reason is that the Law and Justice Party, led by its leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Prime Minister Morawiecki, has in recent years used its clear majority in parliament to carry out decisions in Poland that many have wondered will endanger the country’s democracy. 74 Jaroslaw Kaczynsky has dominated Polish politics for more than 20 years. Photo: Reuters They have ensured that the authorities have almost full control over the state radio and TV channels and, in addition, also intervened directly in connection with the appointment of judges to the country’s courts, including the Supreme Court. Jaroslaw Kaczynsky and his twin brother Lech Kaczynsky formed the Law and Justice Party in 2001. Lech Kaczynsky later became president, but lost his life in a plane crash in Russia in 2010. Mateusz Morawiecki will probably have to step down as prime minister after the weekend elections in Poland. Photo: Reuters Fight against LGBT and the right to abortion. At the same time, it has attracted attention that the Polish authorities have given tacit support to local decisions to introduce so-called LGBT-free zones, where some municipalities say that they will not allow any form of propaganda for those who have a different sexual orientation than the traditional male- woman. Poland has thus come on a collision course with what are important pillars of European cooperation within the EU: free press, independent courts and equal rights for sexual minorities. In addition, new rules have been introduced that make it very difficult for Polish women to have an abortion in their home country. This process has come so far that there have been voices that have thought that Poland, together with Hungary, should be pulled out of the entire union. “Electoral tourism” may have overturned the balance of power But now it seems that Law and the Justice Party’s monopoly of power may be broken, in a democratic election. And the reason is, among other things, what some critics have called “election tourism”. Many liberal voters chose to vote in their hometowns outside the province. There, in the same way as in Norway, fewer votes are needed to get a representative elected to the Seijmen parliament. The electoral system in Poland, where the Law and Justice Party has its strongest support among the population in the countryside and in the poorer eastern part of the country, has favored precisely this party’s candidates. This time, 36 percent of the votes were not enough to secure the clear majority that the party secured in the 2019 election. In addition, there is no doubt that the high turnout, more than 73 percent of those eligible to vote, has benefited the opposition in the country. What is President Duda doing? The question now is what Polish President Andrzej Duda will do. He was elected with the support of Kaczynski and the Law and Justice Party. Formally, it is he who will now take the initiative to form a new government. Duda has said that he will give this assignment to the largest party, that is the Law and Justice Party. Although everything suggests that this party will not be able to get a majority in parliament behind a new government platform, this may mean that it may take time before Donald Tusk is given this assignment, as the front figure of the opposition. There has also been speculation as to whether Kaczynski and the Law and Justice Party will use their influence in the Polish Supreme Court to put obstacles in the way of a change of power. It is the Polish Supreme Court that must formally approve the election results. But this seems unlikely as it now appears. The power of the Catholic Church Donald Tusk says he wants to bring Europe back into the European fold But he also knows that the large support for the Law and Justice Party is based on a strong fear in large parts of the Polish population that liberal market reforms and sexual freedoms will threaten both their traditional lifestyle and way of life. Poland is known as the country in Europe where the Catholic Church stands strongest. Tusk must also take into account that there are many in Poland who are afraid of uncontrolled immigration, not least because the country has already accepted hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighboring Ukraine. In Donald Tusk, Poland gets a prime minister with extensive international experience. Photo: AP Important election for Ukraine In Ukraine, there were also many who followed the election in Poland with interest. Admittedly, the Law and Justice Party has been perhaps Ukraine’s most important supporter in Europe. But the sea has been rough. Poland has refused Ukraine to sell cheap grain and other foodstuffs on the Polish market. In addition, disputes over events during World War II, in which tens of thousands of Poles were killed by Ukrainian nationalists, have been a constant headache. Ukrainians under Polish supremacy in the interwar period is also something that has been there as a bone of contention between Poles and Ukrainians. But officially, both Ukraine and Poland say that this is a thing of the past and that historical disagreements should not prevent a common front against the threat from Russia. Donald Tusk is an experienced politician. He has been both Polish Prime Minister from 2007 to 2014 and then President of the EU Council from 2019. After the harsh rhetoric of the election campaign, many are excited about whether he can use his experience to gather the 40 million Poles.
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Can Poland rally after the election? – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
