Latest news with #Duda
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Cold water and high river levels pose risks for Memorial Day boating
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – With Memorial Day Weekend right around the corner, getting on the water may be a little chillier than usual. The water is definitely a little chilly for swimming, and we can track this back to weather from the winter. Winter temperatures were much cooler than we saw last year, and snowfall was decent in comparison to recent years. Since warm temperatures have only come around in the past month, rivers and lakes haven't had enough time to warm up. Clay Duda with the Oxbox Marina warns boaters of other issues with heading out on the water this weekend. 'Most importantly, the water levels seem to be a little high,' Duda says. 'They will be receding by the weekend. I don't know exactly how low they'll get, but do you know that there's gonna be a lot of hazards on the river, some debris floating around.' More rain is expected leading up to the three-day weekend, but river forecasts show water levels decreasing as we head towards Saturday. It's advised to go out on the water with a friend and to let people know your expected arrival and departure times. Duda said the Oxbox will be fully open as soon as the weather starts to calm down. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland's presidential election heads to run-off election
Voters in Poland will head to a run-off election on June 1 to choose their next president, early exit polls showed on Sunday. Initial forecasts put 53-year-old Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, representing Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist Civic Coalition, narrowly ahead with 30.8% of the vote. Karol Nawrocki, a 42-year-old historian and political outsider running as an independent with backing from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, received 29.1%. As neither of them received the necessary absolute majority at the first attempt, a second round of voting is necessary. Sławomir Mentzen, candidate for the radical right-wing Confederation party, came in third with 15.4%. According to forecasts, voter turnout was 66.8%. By the afternoon, more than 50% of eligible voters had cast their ballots, the commission had said - nearly three percentage points higher than at the same time during the last such vote in 2020. Some 29 million people were eligible to vote in the election to choose a successor to President Andrzej Duda, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third five-year term. Trzaskowski, who has been mayor since 2018, achieved a strong result in the 2020 presidential election, narrowly losing to Duda in the run-off. Duda's right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS), which is the largest opposition party after losing power to Tusk's coalition in 2023, is backing Nawrocki. Tusk's pro-EU coalition has been constrained by Duda, who is aligned with PiS. A win for Trzaskowski, whether now or in a second round, would give Tusk a freer hand to push his reform agenda. The Polish president represents the country abroad, has influence over foreign policy, appoints the head of government and the Cabinet, and is the commander-in-chief of the Polish Armed Forces in the event of war. The election is widely viewed as a pivotal moment for the EU and NATO member state.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland's presidential election could end last vestige of populist resistance to PM Tusk
Since winning power back from the hands of his populist rivals a year and a half ago, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has faced one very stubborn roadblock to his plans: the country's president. That could change after a pivotal presidential election, which begins with a first round of voting Sunday. Rafał Trzaskowski, the mayor of capital city Warsaw who is closely aligned with Tusk's center-left ruling party, is leading opinion polling in the race to replace Andrzej Duda, who has served two terms and is ineligible to stand again. His main challenger is Karol Nawrocki, an ally of US President Donald Trump, who like Duda before him is the chosen candidate of the right-wing populist Law and Justice (PiS) party that has bitterly opposed Tusk's agenda. Nawrocki has loudly supported Trump and visited the White House to meet with the president earlier this month. The stakes for Tusk, and for Europe, are huge: the presidential palace has been the last political stronghold of PiS, which led an eight-year assault on the independence of the country's judicial system, media and cultural bodies before Tusk ousted their government in late 2023. Tusk has re-aligned Warsaw with Brussels, where fellow leaders have cast him as a blueprint for scrubbing a country free of populism, at a time when most centrist leaders on the continent are succumbing to opposition from the right. Freely wielding the presidential veto, Duda has blocked several attempts by Tusk to unpick the legacy of PiS's transformation of the Polish state, including judicial reforms that have been a centerpiece of Tusk's agenda. He has also stalled progress on bills relating to hate crime and contraception access, either by vetoing bills or sending them into legal gridlock. Poland's president is the country's head of state, though it is traditionally a more ceremonial position than the prime minister, who runs the country's government. But the power of the veto allows a president to act as a foil to their government, and Duda has waded readily into political proceedings, publicly clashing with Tusk over several aspects of his platform. If Nawrocki were to triumph in the poll – which will proceed to a second round in two weeks, should no candidate reach 50% of the vote – that roadblock would be expected to remain firmly in place until the next parliamentary election in 2027, when Tusk will be expected to show voters the fruits of his government's agenda. 'A Nawrocki victory would substantially diminish the prime minister's domestic political capital,' Marta Prochwicz Jazowska of the European Council on Foreign Relations wrote. 'Not only would it weaken Tusk's room for manoeuvre, but it would also strain his already fragile ruling coalition as its members would likely disagree on how to respond to an opposition president.' But a Trzaskowski presidency would immediately free Tusk from those constraints. The center-left mayor of Warsaw is a pro-European and socially liberal voice in Polish politics, who lost the previous presidential election to Duda by a razor-thin margin. Though Polish presidential candidates technically stand as individuals, rather than representatives of a party, there is little hiding their affiliations and each major party historically endorses and campaigns for a candidate. Not all of Tusk's pledges would immediately come to pass, however. The prime minister would still need to win the consent of his broad governing coalition for some efforts that are particularly controversial in the heavily Catholic state. Tusk has promised to relax Poland's abortion restrictions, which currently constitute a near-total ban on the procedure, and to allow civil partnerships between same-sex couples, but both pledges have attracted opposition from lawmakers propping up his government. Sunday's vote is expected to whittle the field of candidates down to Nawrocki and Trzaskowski, before a head-to-head run-off in two weeks. But much attention will also be paid to the performance of Sławomir Mentzen, the co-leader of the far-right Confederation party, which is staunchly anti-Brussels, anti-immigration and strongly critical of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Threat of Russia looms over Poland's presidential election
Security concerns dominate Poland's presidential election amidst war in Ukraine and regional instability. With the US's commitment to European security in question, the next Polish president faces the crucial task of maintaining strong transatlantic ties. Poles head to the polls Sunday to choose a successor to Andrzej Duda, whose second term concludes in August. The crowded field of 13 candidates makes a first-round victory unlikely. Some contenders hold extreme views, including pro-Putin and antisemitic sentiments, highlighting concerns about the strength of Polish democracy. A recent four-hour televised debate dragged on for nearly 4 hours. This means a 1 June runoff is the most likely scenario, with polls suggesting a contest between Warsaw's liberal mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, and conservative historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the Law and Justice party. The election's outcome will significantly impact Poland's future, particularly its relationship with the US, considered vital for the nation's security in a turbulent region. Poland's geography gives the election added importance. Bordering Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, Belarus and war-torn Ukraine — as well as several Western allies — Poland occupies a critical position along NATO's eastern flank and serves as a key logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine. Fears are rising that if Russia prevails in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it could target other countries that freed themselves from Moscow's control some 35 years ago. Against that backdrop, the election will shape Warsaw's foreign policy at a moment of mounting strain on trans-Atlantic unity and European defense. Both leading candidates support continued U.S. military engagement in Europe. Trzaskowski puts greater emphasis on deepening ties with the European Union, while Nawrocki is more skeptical of Brussels and promotes a nationalist agenda. When Law and Justice held power, it repeatedly clashed with EU institutions over judicial independence, media freedom and migration. While Poland is a parliamentary democracy, the presidency wields significant influence. The president serves as commander-in-chief, holds veto power, shapes foreign policy and plays a symbolic role in national discourse. Under Duda, the office largely advanced the conservative agenda of Law and Justice. Since Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist coalition came to power in late 2023, Duda has blocked key reforms aimed at restoring judicial independence and repairing relations with the EU. "The stakes are enormous for the ruling coalition and for those concerned with the future of Polish democracy," said Jacek Kucharczyk, president of the Institute of Public Affairs, a Warsaw think tank. "This is about democratic reform and restoring the rule of law — and that can only happen with cooperation from the next president." The election is also pivotal for Law and Justice, Kucharczyk noted: "Its future as a dominant political force may hinge on the outcome." Both Trzaskowski and Nawrocki have pledged to support Ukraine and maintain strong defense ties, but their visions for Poland diverge sharply on the role of the EU and domestic social policy. Trzaskowski, 52, is a former presidential contender and a senior figure in Civic Platform, the centrist party led by Tusk. He is running on a pro-European platform and has pledged to defend judicial independence and rebuild democratic institutions. Supporters describe him as a modernizer who represents a cosmopolitan, outward-facing Poland. He speaks foreign languages, has marched in LGBTQ+ parades and appeals to younger, urban voters. Trzaskowski's progressive views highlight an evolution of the once more conservative Civic Platform. Nawrocki, 42, represents how the party backing him, Law and Justice, is turning further to the right as support for the hard right surges. Nawrocki, who is not a Law and Justice party member, heads the state-backed Institute of National Remembrance, which investigates Nazi and communist-era crimes. He has drawn praise from conservatives for dismantling Soviet monuments and promoting patriotic education, but he faces criticism for inexperience and playing on anti-German and other resentments. He has also been embroiled in some scandals. Earlier this month, Nawrocki met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House — a symbolic moment welcomed by Law and Justice-friendly media as proof that he would be the best man for keeping the relationship with the United States strong. Critics viewed it as interference by Trump's administration. This week Nawrocki was joined on the campaign trail by Romanian nationalist George Simion, who faces a runoff vote for the presidency on Sunday. Simion is viewed by critics as pro-Russian, leading Tusk to tweet: "Russia is pleased. Nawrocki and his pro-Russian Romanian counterpart George Simion on the same stage five days before the presidential elections in Poland and Romania. Everything is clear."
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Business Standard
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Poland votes for new president on Sunday as worries grow about future
A war next door in Ukraine. Migration pressure at borders. Russian sabotage across the region. Doubts about the US commitment to Europe's security. In Poland's presidential election Sunday, security looms large. So do questions about the country's strength as a democracy and its place in the European Union. One of the new president's most important tasks will be maintaining strong ties with the US, widely seen as essential to the survival of a country in an increasingly volatile neighbourhood. A crowded field, a likely runoff Voters in this Central European nation of 38 million people will cast ballots to replace conservative incumbent Andrzej Duda, whose second and final five-year term ends in August. With 13 candidates, a decisive first-round victory is unlikely. Some have appeared unserious or extreme, expressing openly pro-Putin or antisemitic views. A televised debate this week dragged on for nearly four hours. There are calls to raise the threshold to qualify for the race. A runoff on June 1 is widely expected, with polls pointing to a likely showdown between Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the Law and Justice party, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023. A nation at the front line Poland's geography gives the election added importance. Bordering Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, Belarus and war-torn Ukraine -- as well as several Western allies -- Poland occupies a critical position along NATO's eastern flank and serves as a key logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine. Fears are rising that if Russia prevails in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it could target other countries that freed themselves from Moscow's control some 35 years ago. Against that backdrop, the election will shape Warsaw's foreign policy at a moment of mounting strain on trans-Atlantic unity and European defense. Both leading candidates support continued US military engagement in Europe. Trzaskowski puts greater emphasis on deepening ties with the European Union, while Nawrocki is more skeptical of Brussels and promotes a nationalist agenda. When Law and Justice held power, it repeatedly clashed with EU institutions over judicial independence, media freedom and migration. Why the presidency matters While Poland is a parliamentary democracy, the presidency wields significant influence. The president serves as commander-in-chief, holds veto power, shapes foreign policy and plays a symbolic role in national discourse. Under Duda, the office largely advanced the conservative agenda of Law and Justice. Since Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist coalition came to power in late 2023, Duda has blocked key reforms aimed at restoring judicial independence and repairing relations with the EU. The stakes are enormous for the ruling coalition and for those concerned with the future of Polish democracy, said Jacek Kucharczyk, president of the Institute of Public Affairs, a Warsaw think tank. This is about democratic reform and restoring the rule of law -- and that can only happen with cooperation from the next president. The election is also pivotal for Law and Justice, Kucharczyk noted: Its future as a dominant political force may hinge on the outcome. Two visions for Poland Both Trzaskowski and Nawrocki have pledged to support Ukraine and maintain strong defense ties, but their visions for Poland diverge sharply on the role of the EU and domestic social policy. Trzaskowski, 52, is a former presidential contender and a senior figure in Civic Platform, the centrist party led by Tusk. He is running on a pro-European platform and has pledged to defend judicial independence and rebuild democratic institutions. Supporters describe him as a moderniser who represents a cosmopolitan, outward-facing Poland. He speaks foreign languages, has marched in LGBTQ+ parades and appeals to younger, urban voters. Trzaskowski's progressive views highlight an evolution of the once more conservative Civic Platform. Nawrocki, 42, represents how the party backing him, Law and Justice, is turning further to the right as support for the hard right surges. Nawrocki, who is not a Law and Justice party member, heads the state-backed Institute of National Remembrance, which investigates Nazi and communist-era crimes. He has drawn praise from conservatives for dismantling Soviet monuments and promoting patriotic education, but he faces criticism for inexperience and playing on anti-German and other resentments. He has also been embroiled in some scandals. Earlier this month, Nawrocki met with US President Donald Trump at the White House -- a symbolic moment welcomed by Law and Justice-friendly media as proof that he would be the best man for keeping the relationship with the US strong. Critics viewed it as interference by Trump's administration. This week Nawrocki was joined on the campaign trail by Romanian nationalist George Simion, who faces a runoff vote for the presidency on Sunday. Simion is viewed by critics as pro-Russian, leading Tusk to tweet: "Russia is pleased. Nawrocki and his pro-Russian Romanian counterpart George Simion on the same stage five days before the presidential elections in Poland and Romania. Everything is clear. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
