Pro-EU and MAGA visions clash in Poland's closely fought presidential runoff
Poland holds a knife-edge presidential election on Sunday which will determine whether the largest country in the EU's eastern wing cements its place in the bloc's mainstream or turns towards MAGA-style nationalism.
Turnout holds the key to the contest between Rafal Trzaskowski of ruling centrists Civic Coalition (KO), who holds a narrow lead, and Karol Nawrocki, backed by nationalists Law and Justice (PiS).
Parliament holds most power in Poland but the president can veto legislation so the vote is being watched closely in neighbouring Ukraine, as well as in Russia, the US and across the EU.
Both candidates agree on the need to spend heavily on defence, as US President Donald Trump is demanding from Europe, and to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia's three-year-old invasion.
But while Trzaskowski sees Ukraine's future membership of Nato as essential for Poland's security, Nawrocki has recently said he would not ratify it as president as this could draw the alliance into a war with Russia.
Trzaskowski says strong relations with both Brussels and Washington are essential for Poland's security, but Nawrocki, who met Trump in the White House in May, prioritises relations with the US.
If Nawrocki wins, he is likely to follow a similar path to President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally who has used his veto power to block the government's efforts to undo the previous PiS administration's judicial reforms which the EU says undermined the independence of the courts.
Coming about a year-and-a half since Prime Minister Donald Tusk took office, the vote provides the stiffest test yet of support for his broad coalition government, with Nawrocki presenting the ballot as a referendum on its actions.
Voting begins at 7am and is due to end at 9pm, with exit polls published soon afterwards. The electoral commission says it hopes final results will be announced on Monday morning or early afternoon.
Opinion polls show that the difference between the candidates is within the margin of error.
In 2023, huge queues outside polling stations in large cities forced some to stay open later than planned. Analysts said that high participation by younger, liberal, urban Poles was crucial in securing a majority for Tusk.
Trzaskowski is hoping that such scenes will be repeated on Sunday.
'Encourage everyone, so that as many Poles as possible vote in the presidential election,' he told a rally in Wloclawek, central Poland, on Friday.
Nawrocki, who draws inspiration from US President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, told supporters in Biala Podlaska in the country's east that 'these elections could be decided by single votes'.
The two candidates also differ on social issues, with Trzaskowski favouring the liberalisation of abortion laws and introduction of civil partnerships for LGBTQ+ couples, while Nawrocki says predominantly Catholic Poland should reject such moves.
The first round of the election on May 18 saw a surge in support for the anti-establishment far-right, suggesting that the KO-PiS duopoly that has dominated Polish politics for a generation may be starting to fracture.
Nevertheless, after a tumultuous campaign in which Nawrocki in particular faced a slew of negative media reports about his alleged past conduct, once again candidates representing the two main parties are facing off in the second round.
PiS has traditionally enjoyed high support in small towns and rural areas, especially in the south and east. These areas are typically more socially conservative than larger cities and poorer, creating a sense of exclusion that PiS has tapped into.
'They want to build a Poland for the elites,' Nawrocki told voters in Biala Podlaska, referring to his opponents from KO.
'I am simply one of you, I am a citizen of the Polish state who has travelled a long road to be able to today face a person who is the creation of a political laboratory!'
KO, meanwhile, campaigns on a pro-European centrist agenda that appeals to more liberal-minded Poles who mainly live in cities or bigger towns.
Trzaskowski took heart from the turnout at a rally in Ciechanow, central Poland.
'Looking at this mobilisation, I see how much hope you have — hope in a future in which Poland plays a leading role in the EU,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
13 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Europe seeks to revive Iran diplomacy, US considers strikes
European foreign ministers were to meet their Iranian counterpart on Friday, seeking a path back to diplomacy over its contested nuclear programme despite the US considering joining Israeli strikes against Iran. Ministers from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, plus the EU's foreign policy chief spoke to Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to agree on the meeting earlier this week and have been co-ordinating with the US. 'The Iranians can't sit down with the Americans whereas we can,' said a European diplomat. 'We will tell them to come back to the table to discuss the nuclear issue before the worst-case scenario, while raising our concerns over its ballistic missiles, support to Russia and detention of our citizens.' The talks were due for mid-afternoon in Geneva, where an initial accord between Iran and world powers to curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions lifting was struck in 2013 before a comprehensive deal in 2015. Separate talks between Iran and the US collapsed when Israel launched what it called Operation Rising Lion against Iran's nuclear facilities and ballistic capabilities on June 12.
TimesLIVE
16 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Nine EU countries call for talks on ending trade with Israeli settlements
Nine EU countries have called on the European Commission to come up with proposals on how to discontinue EU trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday. The letter, addressed to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, was signed by foreign ministers from Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The EU is Israel's biggest trading partner, accounting about a third of its total goods trade. Two-way goods trade between the bloc and Israel stood at €42.6bn (R885,76bn) last year, though it was unclear how much of that trade involved settlements. The ministers pointed to a July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, which said Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements are illegal. It said states should take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that help maintain the situation. 'We have not seen a proposal to initiate discussions on how to effectively discontinue trade of goods and services with the illegal settlements,' the ministers wrote. 'We need the European Commission to develop proposals for concrete measures to ensure compliance by the EU with the obligations identified by the court.'
IOL News
20 hours ago
- IOL News
European, Iranian diplomats to meet as US mulls joining Israel campaign
US President Donald Trump Image: (Photo by Michael Kappeler / AFP European foreign ministers will hold talks Friday with their Iranian counterpart, hoping to reach a diplomatic solution to the war with Israel as US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of US involvement. Israel, claiming Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched air strikes against its arch-enemy a week ago, triggering deadly exchanges. Sirens sounded in southern Israel on Friday morning after missiles were launched from Iran, the Israeli army said. It earlier warned people in Iran's northern industrial area of Sefidrood to evacuate ahead of Israeli strikes. Israeli police said they, emergency response teams and bomb disposal experts were operating "at the site of a projectile impact" in a southern city, while the rescue service said it had not received reports of any wounded. The country's military, meanwhile, said it had struck dozens of targets in Tehran overnight, including what it called a centre for the "research and development of Iran's nuclear weapons project". European leaders urging de-escalation have scrambled to hold talks with Iran, as Trump said he would decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in Israel's bombing campaign. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with his French, German, British and EU counterparts in Geneva on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", after meeting senior US officials in Washington on Thursday. Lammy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "agreed Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon", according to the State Department. Netanyahu welcomed the prospect of US involvement in its campaign, while Russia, an Iranian ally, told the United States that joining the conflict would be an "extremely dangerous step". The UN Security Council is also due to convene on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday. While Netanyahu has not publicly said that Israel is trying to topple Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, defence minister Israel Katz warned after the strike on Israel's Soroka hospital that Khamenei "can no longer be allowed to exist". A week of deadly exchanges between the two countries has plunged the Middle East into a new crisis, more than 20 months into the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Panic and blackouts Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sworn Iran will "pay a heavy price" for the strike on Soroka on Thursday, an attack Tehran said was targeting a military and intelligence base. Hospital director Shlomi Codish said 40 people were wounded in the strike that destroyed several wards. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called attacks on health facilities "appalling", while UN rights chief Volker Turk said civilians were being treated as "collateral damage". In Iran, people fleeing Israel's attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages and limited internet access. "Those days and nights were very horrifying... hearing sirens, the wailing, the danger of being hit by missiles," University of Tehran student Mohammad Hassan told AFP, after returning to his native Pakistan. "People are really panicking," a 50-year-old Iranian pharmacist who did not want to be named told AFP at a crossing on the border with Turkey. Iran imposed a "nationwide internet shutdown" on Thursday -- the most extensive blackout since widespread anti-government protests in 2019 -- internet watchdog NetBlocks said. Iran also appointed Brigadier General Majid Khadami as the new chief of intelligence for the Revolutionary Guards on Thursday, the official IRNA news agency said, after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli strike last week. Any US involvement in Israel's campaign against Iran would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground nuclear facility in Fordo, using specially developed bunker-busting bombs. Dozens of US military aircraft were no longer visible at a US base in Qatar on Thursday, satellite images showed -- a possible move to shield them from potential Iranian strikes. Nuclear sites White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Iran was "a couple of weeks" away from producing an atomic bomb. Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent -- far above the 3.67-percent limit set by the 2015 deal, but still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. A key Iranian government body, the Guardian Council, threatened a "harsh response" if "the criminal American government and its stupid president... take action against Islamic Iran". On Thursday, Israel said it struck "dozens" of Iranian targets overnight, including the partially built Arak nuclear reactor and a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.
