Warsaw Mayor eyes tight presidential election win
Liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski appears set for a razor-thin win in Poland's presidential election, an exit poll showed, in a vote seen as a test of the nation's support for a pro-European course versus Donald Trump-style nationalism.
An exit poll by Ipsos for broadcasters TVN, TVP and Polsat on Sunday showed Trzaskowski of the ruling centrists Civic Coalition (KO) winning 50.3 per cent of ballots. His rival, a conservative historian and amateur boxer, Karol Nawrocki, backed by nationalists Law and Justice (PiS), was at 49.7 per cent.
Official results were due on Monday, although a late poll that mixes some results with exit surveys was expected to be published overnight. The exit poll carries a margin of error of two percentage points.
Trzaskowski, 53, campaigned on a promise to help the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk complete its democratic reforms, which they both say aim to repair an erosion of checks and balances under the previous nationalist government that lost power in 2023.
"We won," he told jubilant party members after the exit surveys came out.
"I will bring people together, I will be constructive, I will be a president for all Poles. I will be your president."
Parliament holds most of the 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 European Union.
Both candidates agreed 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 said recently that if he were president he would not ratify it because of the danger of the alliance being drawn into war with Russia.
Nawrocki, who draws inspiration from Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, said it was too early to call Trzaskowski's victory.
"We will win and we will save Poland," he said.
"We will not allow for Donald Tusk's power to be all-encompassing and the monopoly of evil power ... which takes away our great dreams ...to become complete."
Coming around a year and a half since Tusk, a former president of the European Council, took office, the vote provides the toughest test yet of support for his broad coalition government, with Nawrocki presenting the ballot as a referendum on its actions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
17 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Musk used X to boost Trump. Now he's wielding it against him
Thursday's online drama underscored that while Musk's stewardship of X made it into a powerful tool for his allies and the conservative movement, he feels free to wrench it in whatever new direction he pleases. When he acquired Twitter, Musk drove some users and advertisers away from the platform by putting his personal views ahead of business concerns, loosening speech rules and reinstating accounts banned for harassment or spreading misinformation. His fight with Trump proved again that he is willing to risk an exodus of users – this time from the right – by using the platform as a bully pulpit. Trump commands an actual military, but Musk oversees the larger digital horde. He has 220 million X followers, while Trump has 100 million on X and another 10 million on Truth Social, where he has lately become more prolific than he ever was on Twitter. Musk also controls X's moderation policies and its algorithm, both of which he has used at times to boost his own reach and silence his critics. Musk's power to direct attention on X has helped drive the emergence of an ecosystem of pseudonymous conservative political and tech influencers. Many have built followings in the millions on X by praising Musk, denigrating his rivals and trumpeting his agenda. They've been rewarded with amplification from Musk and a cut of X's ad revenue. All those advantages were arrayed in Trump's favour after Musk endorsed his candidacy on X less than an hour after Trump survived an attempted assassination in July. Musk donned a MAGA hat in his profile image, held an hours-long live audio event on X with Trump and posted fake AI-generated images of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in communist regalia. On more than one occasion, pro-Harris accounts found themselves throttled or temporarily suspended, leading some Democrats to cry foul. As Musk's 'DOGE', or Department of Government Efficiency, swept through Washington in February at Trump's behest, X became a digital command centre of the new administration. Musk used it to amplify claims of waste and corruption, some of them unfounded, at the agencies and programs he targeted for elimination. He baited critics with memes of himself as the Godfather and polled his followers on what DOGE should cut next. Now it's Trump that Musk is trolling, after ending his government service a long way short of his stated goal of cutting $US2 trillion in federal spending. He sent warning shots on Tuesday, calling Trump's massive tax and immigration bill – the president's top domestic priority – a 'disgusting abomination'. The conflict escalated in a hurry on Thursday after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that his 'great relationship' with Musk might be over. Over the following hours, Musk accused Trump and other Republican leaders of betraying their principles and approvingly reposted criticisms of them from other accounts. That can have ripple effects across X as users vie to craft posts that will win a reply or amplification from Musk that can boost their own followings. At one point, Musk posted a poll asking his 220 million followers if it was time to 'create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80 per cent in the middle'. Six hours into the 24-hour poll, the votes leaned heavily toward 'Yes'. Traffic to X surely spiked on Thursday as political and tech insiders became glued to the conflict and citizens were left to wonder what it meant for the world's richest person to be at war with its most politically powerful. How the feud will affect Musk's influence and business empire is less certain. Loading Tesla and SpaceX, his most valuable companies, depend heavily on government regulation and contracts, making them vulnerable to attacks by Trump and his administration. Tesla stock fell on Thursday as investors appeared to fear retribution. Public spats between influencers are great for engagement on social platforms. But if the acrimony continues, Musk may have to reckon again with an exodus of users repelled by his politics. His embrace of Trump sent liberals scurrying to Meta's Threads and upstart Bluesky. His split with the president could give Trump an opening to lure more conservatives to Truth Social. On Thursday, some X influencers appeared to have calculated they had better prospects by sticking with Musk. An account called DogeDesigner with 41 million followers posted that Musk 'sacrificed a lot for Trump' and deserved better treatment. Just last week, Musk had sent it a heart emoji for a post promoting his alliance with the president. Another account called Shibetoshi Nakamoto mused, 'can i finally say that trump's tariffs are super stupid'. In a battle between Musk and Trump, 'My money's on Elon,' conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote, adding that 'Trump should be impeached and [US vice president] J.D. Vance should replace him.'
The Age
17 hours ago
- The Age
Musk used X to boost Trump. Now he's wielding it against him
Thursday's online drama underscored that while Musk's stewardship of X made it into a powerful tool for his allies and the conservative movement, he feels free to wrench it in whatever new direction he pleases. When he acquired Twitter, Musk drove some users and advertisers away from the platform by putting his personal views ahead of business concerns, loosening speech rules and reinstating accounts banned for harassment or spreading misinformation. His fight with Trump proved again that he is willing to risk an exodus of users – this time from the right – by using the platform as a bully pulpit. Trump commands an actual military, but Musk oversees the larger digital horde. He has 220 million X followers, while Trump has 100 million on X and another 10 million on Truth Social, where he has lately become more prolific than he ever was on Twitter. Musk also controls X's moderation policies and its algorithm, both of which he has used at times to boost his own reach and silence his critics. Musk's power to direct attention on X has helped drive the emergence of an ecosystem of pseudonymous conservative political and tech influencers. Many have built followings in the millions on X by praising Musk, denigrating his rivals and trumpeting his agenda. They've been rewarded with amplification from Musk and a cut of X's ad revenue. All those advantages were arrayed in Trump's favour after Musk endorsed his candidacy on X less than an hour after Trump survived an attempted assassination in July. Musk donned a MAGA hat in his profile image, held an hours-long live audio event on X with Trump and posted fake AI-generated images of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in communist regalia. On more than one occasion, pro-Harris accounts found themselves throttled or temporarily suspended, leading some Democrats to cry foul. As Musk's 'DOGE', or Department of Government Efficiency, swept through Washington in February at Trump's behest, X became a digital command centre of the new administration. Musk used it to amplify claims of waste and corruption, some of them unfounded, at the agencies and programs he targeted for elimination. He baited critics with memes of himself as the Godfather and polled his followers on what DOGE should cut next. Now it's Trump that Musk is trolling, after ending his government service a long way short of his stated goal of cutting $US2 trillion in federal spending. He sent warning shots on Tuesday, calling Trump's massive tax and immigration bill – the president's top domestic priority – a 'disgusting abomination'. The conflict escalated in a hurry on Thursday after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that his 'great relationship' with Musk might be over. Over the following hours, Musk accused Trump and other Republican leaders of betraying their principles and approvingly reposted criticisms of them from other accounts. That can have ripple effects across X as users vie to craft posts that will win a reply or amplification from Musk that can boost their own followings. At one point, Musk posted a poll asking his 220 million followers if it was time to 'create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80 per cent in the middle'. Six hours into the 24-hour poll, the votes leaned heavily toward 'Yes'. Traffic to X surely spiked on Thursday as political and tech insiders became glued to the conflict and citizens were left to wonder what it meant for the world's richest person to be at war with its most politically powerful. How the feud will affect Musk's influence and business empire is less certain. Loading Tesla and SpaceX, his most valuable companies, depend heavily on government regulation and contracts, making them vulnerable to attacks by Trump and his administration. Tesla stock fell on Thursday as investors appeared to fear retribution. Public spats between influencers are great for engagement on social platforms. But if the acrimony continues, Musk may have to reckon again with an exodus of users repelled by his politics. His embrace of Trump sent liberals scurrying to Meta's Threads and upstart Bluesky. His split with the president could give Trump an opening to lure more conservatives to Truth Social. On Thursday, some X influencers appeared to have calculated they had better prospects by sticking with Musk. An account called DogeDesigner with 41 million followers posted that Musk 'sacrificed a lot for Trump' and deserved better treatment. Just last week, Musk had sent it a heart emoji for a post promoting his alliance with the president. Another account called Shibetoshi Nakamoto mused, 'can i finally say that trump's tariffs are super stupid'. In a battle between Musk and Trump, 'My money's on Elon,' conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote, adding that 'Trump should be impeached and [US vice president] J.D. Vance should replace him.'
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Takes two to Tango': Trump mulls punishing Ukraine, as well as Russia
The Kremlin also accused Britain on Thursday of being involved in the surprise Ukrainian drone strike on Russia at the weekend. 'Such a kind of attack involves, of course, provision of very high technology, so-called geospaced data, which can only be done by those who have it in possession. And this is London and Washington,' Russian ambassador to London Andrei Kelin told Sky News, as reported by the UK Telegraph. 'I don't believe that America [is involved], that has been denied by President Trump, definitely, but it has not been denied by London.' Downing Street said it would never comment on operational matters at home or abroad. European leaders are worried that Trump, who has expressed frustration over efforts to bring an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, will abandon Ukraine peace talks and US support for Kyiv. Trump said during the meeting with Merz that he believed Germany agreed with him about the need for an end to the conflict with Ukraine. Merz reiterated his support for Ukraine. 'My personal view is clear on that we are on the side of Ukraine, and we are trying to get them stronger and stronger, just to make Putin stop this war,' Merz said. Trump's rhetoric may alarm European partners, who are hoping to convince him to ramp up pressure on Putin to force the Russian leader to the negotiating table. Putin has rejected calls for a ceasefire; Trump is expected to meet with key US allies at the G7 and a NATO summit later this month. Loading 'We are all looking for measures and instruments to bring this terrible war to an end,' Merz said. 'So let's talk about what we can do jointly, and we are ready to do what we can. And you know that we gave support to Ukraine and that we are looking for more pressure on Russia.' Thursday's meeting between Merz and Trump was an early test for the 69-year-old conservative who became Germany's new leader last month. Merz is visiting Washington in a bid to bolster ties strained by Trump's sweeping tariffs and Russia's war in Ukraine — issues expected to dominate their agenda. Merz presented Trump with the birth certificate of his German grandfather, who was born in the village of Kallstadt in 1869 and later immigrated to New York as a 16-year-old and made his fortune in the restaurant business. 'We'll put it up in a place of honour,' Trump said. The gift is part of Merz's charm offensive and is supposed to remind the US president of his German roots. But it clearly also carries a political message for Trump, who has criticised post-war Germany for having benefited from US military protection without having paid its fair share. The timing of Merz's visit is critical for trade talks, with just weeks to go before Trump's threatened 50 per cent tariff on nearly all European Union goods is set to take effect. The EU and the US have been engaged in talks to avert higher import taxes, but the process has been rocky, with Trump bemoaning the level of progress and issuing fresh threats that have heightened tensions. Trump on Tuesday signed an order doubling US steel and aluminum tariffs to 50 per cent, angering European officials, who say the move undermines negotiations and threatened retaliatory measures if a deal is not reached. Trump has suggested that if he is unable to reach deals with trading partners that he will just settle on a tariff level. 'We'll end up, hopefully, with a trade deal or, or we'll do something, you know, we'll do the tariffs,' Trump told Merz on Thursday. 'I mean, I'm OK with the tariffs, or we make a deal with the trade.' Loading Trump's complaints about the EU are longstanding. He recently accused the bloc of slow-walking negotiations and unfairly targeting US companies with lawsuits and regulations. He threatened the higher 50 per cent tariff on the bloc starting June 1, but delayed it until July 9 after a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At home, the far-right Alternative for Germany wants Merz to break with Brussels to resolve the trade dispute, an idea the chancellor has rejected.
