Polish far-right leader sets terms for runoff endorsement
Photo: Youtube/SławomirMentzen
Polish far-right leader
Slawomir Mentzen
set terms on Tuesday for a potential endorsement in the country's upcoming presidential runoff, whose nationalist and pro-EU candidates need to woo third-party voters to win.
The multi-millionaire entrepreneur and co-leader of the far-right Confederation party scored nearly 15 percent in round one of the ballot on Sunday, a strong third place that puts him in a position to play kingmaker in the June 1 runoff.
Pro-EU Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski won Sunday's election by a razor-thin margin, getting 31 percent against 30 percent for nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki.
"I invite both candidates... for a chat on my YouTube channel. During each conversation I will ask them to sign a statement in line with the expectations of my voters," Mentzen said on X.
"There's no better way to win over my voters than to appear on my social media channels...
If you care about their votes, then come persuade them," he added.
Mentzen linked to a video in which he ticked off the eight items contained in the declaration he has asked the candidates to sign.
They notably include pledges to not sign any legislation that would raise taxes, ratify Ukraine's potential NATO membership or limit free speech.
"Who knows, maybe I'll even decide to endorse one of you," Mentzen said, addressing the candidates.
Nawrocki promptly wrote on X: "I accept the invitation and am ready to sign the statement's items."
Trzaskowski did not immediately comment.
An overall victory for Trzaskowski as head of state would be a boost for the centrist government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The former European Union leader's government has been at loggerheads with the current nationalist president, Andrzej Duda.
A win for Nawrocki, a fan of US President Donald Trump, would probably extend the political deadlock in the Central European country of 38 million people.
The two candidates have diverging views on abortion and LGBTQ rights. The election also comes at a fraught moment for Europe, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine drags on and ties with Washington are under strain.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
40 minutes ago
- NDTV
'Harvard Is Starting To Behave': Donald Trump On Student Visa Row
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Education Secretary Linda McMahon noted progress in universities addressing Trump's demands for transparency on international students. She emphasised the need for vetting to combat antisemitism and advocated for merit-based admissions over DEI programs. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said that she is seeing "progress" from institutions regarding the Trump administration's demands. Trump in an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had said that, 'We want to have foreign students come. We're very honoured by it, but we want to see their list." She echoed the same sentiments. 'Harvard didn't want to give us the list. They're going to be giving us the list now. I think they're starting to behave, actually, if you want to know the truth,' the president added. In May, the Trump administration sent a letter to Harvard University, stating that if Harvard wants the opportunity of regaining Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification before the upcoming academic school year back, they should provide the "information required" within "72 hours". The information included the list of students who had participated in pro-Palestine protests. McMahon defended the attacks on universities such as Harvard and Columbia and said, 'I have seen progress. And you know why I think we're seeing progress? Because we are putting these measures in place, and we're saying we're putting teeth behind what we're looking at,' in an interview to NBC News. She added that there still is a long way to go to eradicate antisemitism on campus and vet international students. 'It's very important that we are making sure that the students who are coming in and being on these campuses aren't activists, that they're not causing these activities,' McMahon said. The Education Secretary said that students who come on campus should not be afraid to be there and should not feel unsafe. 'I'm really happy to see what Harvard did, but I wonder if maybe they didn't get a little spur from our action, because they talk a lot about it, but I think we really started to see a lot of their actions once we were taking action,' she acknowledged. She gave Trump the credit for pushing the universities to take steps to combat antisemitism on campus. This comes after Trump signed a proclamation that aims to deny foreign students from studying at Harvard. In May, a federal judge had blocked Trump's ability to enrol foreign students. Answering if international students will have to leave Harvard, if already enrolled, she said, 'Well, that's actually more up to the State Department than it is to Department of Education", and added, "we have to do more careful vetting.' Amid accusations on Harvard and Columbia of fomenting antisemitism, Trump had cancelled $2 billion in grants to Harvard and $400 million in grants to Columbia. McMahon added that there was an imbalance in diversity on Campus because, 'only 3% of [Harvard's] faculty were conservatives.' 'Do you think that's a diversity of viewpoint on campus? Because those — you can't possibly believe that,' she added. 'And I do think that that's one of the things that Harvard and Columbia and other universities are taking a serious look at, is, what is that balance?' She said that Harvard and other universities "need to do a better job" in that. McMahon also defended Trump's efforts to eliminate DEI programs on college campuses and said that she favoured merit-based admissions instead. 'What we found when we admit students through merit and meritocracy and, and their studies, that diversity comes on campuses by itself,' McMahon said. 'You don't need to have a particular program that says we have to have diversity, equity, inclusion.'
Deccan Herald
an hour ago
- Deccan Herald
Israel orders military to stop Gaza-bound yacht carrying Greta Thunberg
Operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the British-flagged Madleen yacht set sail from Sicily on June 6 and is currently off the Egyptian coast, heading slowly towards the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
2 hours ago
- First Post
‘New realities on the ground': Russia claims advance in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk amid stalled peace talks
Russia said on Sunday its forces had advanced to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk amid a public row between Moscow and Kyiv over peace negotiations and the return of thousands of bodies of soldiers who fell in the war. read more A soldier from the Ukrainian 33rd Separate Mechanised Brigade trains to hold a position during an extraction exercise at an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine on June 6, 2025. Image- AP Russia announced Sunday that its forces have made a breakthrough into Ukraine's eastern industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in the three-year conflict as peace talks remain stalled and fighting continues to ravage the region. Amid talk of peace, the war is stepping up with Russian forces grabbing more territory in Ukraine and Kyiv unfurling high-profile drone and sabotage attacks on Russia's nuclear-capable bomber fleet and, according to Moscow, on railways. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Russia, which controls a little under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, has taken more than 190 square km (73 square miles) of the Sumy region of eastern Ukraine in less than a month, according to pro-Ukrainian open-source maps. Now, according to the Russian defence ministry, units of the 90th Tank Division of the Central Grouping of Russian forces have reached the western frontier of Ukraine's Donetsk region and are attacking the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk region. Moscow has consistently rejected international calls, including those from Ukraine, European leaders, and former US President Donald Trump, for a comprehensive ceasefire. Instead, it has insisted on recognition of its claimed territories as a precondition for any peace agreement. In talks held in Istanbul on June 2, Russia reiterated demands that Ukraine formally accept the annexation of the five regions—an outcome Kyiv has firmly rejected. Earlier negotiations last month saw Ukraine warn that Russia threatened to escalate its military operations should Kyiv refuse to surrender. The conflict has exacted a devastating toll: tens of thousands killed, millions displaced, and widespread destruction across eastern Ukraine due to persistent air strikes and ground combat. Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the country's security council, underscored the significance of the new advance, warning Kyiv on social media that failure to accept the 'realities' of war in talks would lead to 'new realities on the ground.' Tens of thousands have been killed in Russia's three-year war, millions forced to flee their homes and cities and villages across eastern Ukraine devastated by relentless air attacks and ground combat. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Russia's ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the national security council, said the fresh advance was a warning to Kyiv. 'Those who do not want to recognise the realities of the war at negotiations, will receive new realities on the ground,' he said on social media. With inputs from agencies
