Poland election: In historic first, PM gets a second term
| Warsaw, Poland
Poland鈥檚 Sunday parliamentary elections brought victory to the center-right Civic Platform (PO), reinforcing popular approval of the country's move toward good relations with Germany and Russia alike, as well as further integration with the European Union.
The Civic Platform bested the opposition right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which came in second with 29.89 percent of the vote. The final results were announced on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk鈥檚 current coalition partner, the Polish Peoples鈥� Party (PSL), which represents the interests of the country鈥檚 rural population, was ranked fourth with an 8.36 percent share of the vote. As a result, the old-new coalition government will have a majority of 235 seats in the 460-member lower chamber.
"Civic Platform managed to win in all major Polish cities, while Law and Justice lost a number of its rural strongholds,鈥� says Jan Filip Stanilko, an analyst with the Sobieski Institute, a conservative think tank.
Since it came to power in 2007, Mr. Tusk鈥檚 government has worked to improve Poland鈥檚 relations with its neighbors to the east 鈥� Russia 鈥� as well as to the west. Civic Platform鈥檚 pro-EU stance stood in contrast to the Euroskepticism embraced by the Law and Justice party. The party also repudiated the regional diplomacy of Mr. Kaczynski's prime ministership, during which Warsaw鈥檚 relations with Berlin and Moscow became strained.
"I want to thank all Poles for ... confirming that these four years had a profound importance for Poland,鈥� Tusk told crowds of his supporters after the announcement of preliminary results. "During the next four years, we will all share the burden of responsibility for our homeland.鈥�
Poland鈥檚 newspaper of record, Gazeta Wyborcza, wrote that "There is no triumph of the Civic Platform, but there is a victory. A victory which comes after four difficult years of governance in the times of crisis.鈥� A majority of voters trusted the predictable Civic Platform, reflecting their belief that it is able to cope with looming hardships, according to the newspaper.
Economic troubles ahead?
In the second quarter of 2011, Poland鈥檚 gross domestic product grew by a robust 4.5 percent, according to data from Eurostat. However, forecasts for the second half of the year are lower, raising fears that the country鈥檚 economy is not immune to the current global turmoil.
Meanwhile, analysts say the biggest surprise of the Sunday vote was the success of a new populist party, Palikot鈥檚 Movement (RP), led by maverick politician and millionaire Janusz Palikot, a former MP for the Civic Platform.
"Palikot鈥檚 party has captured a group of voters with progressive views on the society, and took advantage of the post-communist left鈥檚 weakness,鈥� Mr. Stanilko says.
The center-left Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) received a mere 8.24 percent of the vote, its worst score in 20 years.
Merging a libertarian, anti-big government stance on economics with socially liberal views, such as its support for gay civil unions, legalizing marijuana, and diminishing the influence of the Roman Catholic church on Polish society, Palikot鈥檚 Movement won 10.02 percent of the vote. Its 40-strong representation in the parliament includes Robert Biedron, the first openly gay MP in the Polish Sejm, and Anna Grodzka, who will be Poland鈥檚 first transsexual MP.
Law and Justice鈥檚 leader, former prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said he is aiming to win with a landslide in 2015 after eight years in opposition, following in the steps of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Mr. Kaczynski鈥檚 party previously ruled the country from 2005 to 2007.
