Poland votes for new president in high stakes run-off election
Poles are voting in a decisive presidential run-off that could have a major impact on the nation's future role in the European Union.
Polling began at 7am local time (05:00 GMT), with pro-EU Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski from the centre-right Civic Platform of the governing Civic Coalition facing off against conservative historian Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party.
The run-off follows a tightly contested first round on May 18, in which Trzaskowski won just more than 31 percent, and Nawrocki won nearly 30 percent, eliminating 11 other candidates.
The winner will succeed incumbent Andrzej Duda, the outgoing nationalist conservative president who was also backed by PiS and blamed for holding up justice reforms by using his veto against Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist government.
The campaign has highlighted stark ideological divides, with the outcome expected to determine whether Poland continues along a nationalist path or pivots more decisively towards liberal democratic norms.
Trzaskowski, the 53-year-old son of a famous jazz musician, has promised to restore judicial independence, ease abortion restrictions and promote constructive ties with European partners.
Nawrocki, a 42-year-old former boxer, who is favoured by United States President Donald Trump, has positioned himself as a defender of traditional Polish values, and is sceptical of the EU.
Amid rising security fears over Russia's war on Ukraine, both the candidates support aid to Kyiv, though Nawrocki opposes NATO membership for neighbouring Ukraine, while Trzaskowski supports it.
The two candidates have taken a similarly hardline approach to immigration, both using anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, building on growing resentment among Poles who see themselves as competing for strained social services with 1.55 million Ukrainian war refugees and migrants.
While Trzaskowski has proposed that only working Ukrainians should have access to the country's child benefit, Nawrocki has gone further, saying he would also be against Ukraine joining NATO or even the EU.
Polls close at 9pm (19:00 GMT) when an exit poll is expected. Final results are likely to be announced on Monday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
12 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,215
Here is how things stand on Sunday, June 23: Fighting Russian drone and missile attacks in and around Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, overnight have killed at least five people and wounded dozens, according to Ukrainian officials. The attacks also sparked fires in residential areas and damaged an entrance to a metro station that serves as a bomb shelter, the officials said. Russia launched 352 drones and 16 missiles targeting Ukrainian territory overnight on Monday, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Russia's air defence units destroyed 16 Ukrainian drones between 10pm local time on Sunday (19:00 GMT) and 6am on Monday (03:00 GMT), the Russian Ministry of Defence said. In his nightly address on Sunday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Norway would invest $400m in his country's defence sector. Diplomacy Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday said that Spain has not committed to increasing annual defence-related spending to at least 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). It came after news emerged that NATO allies, who are meeting this week in the Netherlands, had agreed to a big increase in their defence spending target to counter what they describe as a growing threat from Russia and allow Europe to take more responsibility for its own security. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has urged the European Union to take a proposed ban on Russian energy off the agenda due to an expected rise in energy prices following the US's bombing of Iran on Sunday.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Hundreds protest against NATO summit, Israel-Iran conflict in The Hague
Hundreds of people have protested in The Hague, in the Netherlands, against NATO and increased military spending in advance of a summit, as Iran's conflict with Israel and the United States intensifies by the day. People demonstrated on Sunday against the military alliance, Israel's punishing war in Gaza and the Israel-Iran conflict, hours after the US targeted three nuclear sites in Iran in a sudden escalatory move in support of its biggest ally in the Middle East. Hossein Hamadani, 74, an Iranian who lives in the Netherlands, told The Associated Press news agency that they are 'opposed to war'. 'People want to live a peaceful life … Things are not good. So why do we spend money on war?' he added. Following the US's attack on Iran, an unnamed NATO official told the Reuters news agency that the alliance was watching the situation 'closely'. The summit is expected to kick off on Tuesday, with leaders of the 32 NATO-allied countries to meet a day later on Wednesday. During the meeting, the heads of state will discuss an increase in defence spending, which has been repeatedly demanded by US President Donald Trump, along with thinly veiled threats to leave the military alliance. On Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke out against the agreement to increase defence spending to 5 percent of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as not only 'unreasonable but also counterproductive'. In a letter to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Sanchez asked for a 'more flexible formula' that either makes the spending target optional or excludes Spain from its application. But Trump said a day later that Madrid was 'notorious' for underspending on defence and said it needed to pay what other NATO members were paying. The allied countries have ramped up defence spending since Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago; however, almost a third of the members still do not meet the bloc's current target of at least 2 percent defence spending.
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
China is set to be resilient to global trade shocks
The year started for China with a positive tone on the back of a turnaround in private sector sentiment, driven by a more supportive economic policy mix, optimism around the country's capabilities on artificial intelligence (AI), and a stabilization in manufacturing activity. Importantly, this came after years of subdued investor appetite and volatile growth on the back of real estate wounds, regulatory stringency, limited official stimulus, and the trauma from hard pandemic lockdowns. Such positive outlook and turnaround translated into stronger activity and constant upgrades in growth expectations since September 2024. However, global macro prospects were suddenly shaken by a radical shift in US trade policies in February, when president Trump announced a massive increase in import tariffs. China, in particular, was singled out by the US with 'embargo like' 140% tariffs and much less room for exemptions. After bilateral negotiations started, tariffs were reduced to a more manageable but still high 40% rate. Despite this major shock, China's economy appears to be resilient. In fact, across major economies, China seems to be the least affected by growth expectations downgrades since US tariffs 'Liberation Day,' even if the country is by far the largest exporter globally. In our view, three main factors sustain a more optimistic economic take on China in the face of the US policy shock. First, despite being the world's largest exporter and a key node in global manufacturing, the overall impact from US tariffs on China's growth is very limited. This is largely due to the declining importance of the US as an export destination and Beijing's strategic reorientation of trade flows. In the early 2000s, the US accounted for nearly 20% of Chinese exports, but this share has declined to around 15% in recent years, equivalent to around 2.8% of the country's GDP. Exports grew stronger in markets such as Southeast Asia, the EU, and Belt and Road countries, helping to offset US-driven losses. Moreover, exports themselves have been declining in overall importance to China's economic model, now contributing less than 20% to GDP – compared to 35% in 2006 – amid a policy-led pivot toward domestic consumption, high-tech innovation, and services. These structural shifts, coupled with adaptive trade strategies, have helped insulate China from the full brunt of Trump-era tariffs, reducing their macroeconomic impact and sustaining the country's external surplus. Second, tariffs are blunt tools in a world of fragmented supply chains, and China's central role in global production networks has significantly diluted their effectiveness. Unlike the bilateral trade flows of the past, modern goods cross multiple borders during assembly, making it hard to isolate national value added. Multinational firms adapt quickly, shifting final assembly to third countries while maintaining Chinese inputs through transhipment. These workarounds often outpace enforcement, undermining the intent of protectionist policies. Additionally, a substantial share of Chinese exports – such as critical components in electronics, machinery, and pharmaceuticals – are not easily substitutable and remain essential to US firms and supply stability. As a result, tariffs are unlikely to trigger reshoring and China is expected to retain its role as an indispensable link in global manufacturing. Third, US tariffs are expected to be offset by the devaluation of the Chinese renminbi (RMB), particularly in real effective terms, which is enhancing China's price competitiveness globally. Since the escalation of the 'trade war' in February, the RMB has weakened against the USD, but even more so against a broader basket of currencies, resulting in a meaningful depreciation of China's real effective exchange rate (REER). This has lowered the relative cost of Chinese exports in non-USD markets, helping Chinese firms gain market share globally despite higher US tariffs. The REER adjustment acts as an automatic stabilizer for China. In effect, the RMB's adjustment is helping to preserve or even increase external demand, ensuring continued export surplus, further underscoring the limitations of unilateral trade barriers. All in all, China's growth prospects this year remain moderately robust despite continued trade tensions. This is due to a structural decline in US export dependence, the ineffectiveness of tariffs in a globalized supply chain environment, and the competitive tailwind from a weaker RMB collectively cushioning the Chinese economy from material external shocks. — By QNB Economics
