Latest news with #GreatPatriotsMarch
Euronews
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Thousands attend rival marches as Poland's presidential runoff nears
The second round of the Polish presidential election is set to be tight, with both candidates going head to head. Both Civic Coalition candidate Rafał Trzaskowski and Law and Justice or PiS party-backed candidate Karol Nawrocki argue that if they were to win, the entirety of Poland would win. Tens of thousands of Poles from across the country took part in dueling patriotic marches in Warsaw on Sunday. Banners and flags, not just only of Poland, but also of the European Union, flew at Trzaskowski's "Great Patriots March." "We are from a small village, from Kokoszkowe near Starogard Gdański, and we got up at six in the morning. The journey went quickly for us. Of course we [voted] for Rafał Trzaskowski. Otherwise is simply unthinkable," one of the march attendees told Euronews. "I support Trzaskowski, maybe not because I was his first voter, because I didn't vote for him in the first round, of course, but nevertheless, we need to mobilise," said a young man in the march, for whom this is the first presidential election in which he can vote. Meanwhile, people at the "March for Poland" supporting Nawrocki stressed the importance of traditional values. "I want Poland to be Poland, for me this is the basis," an attendee of the march told Euronews. "We support right-wing views. First of all, freedom, sovereignty, defence of borders, defence of the Polish zloty. We are doing very well economically," another woman said while walking through the centre together with other Nawrocki supporters. "We think that Poland with Mr. Karol [Nawrocki] will be safe. We don't want illegal immigrants. We want to feel safe," explained another woman who went to the march with her young children. According to Donald Tusk, half a million people were present at the march in support of Trzaskowski. "There are half a million of us. I believe in you. I believe in Poland," the Prime Minister wrote on social media platform X. Meanwhile, the organisers of the march in support of Nawrocki reported at least 100,000 people took part. However, press agencies, including Associated Press, and local media reported a much lower attendance, claiming tens of thousands of Poles took part in both marches combined. German police authorities did not provide information on the turnout at the marches. The pro-European mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, took part in the "Great Patriots March," sending a strong symbol regarding his support of European values. During his speech, Dan stressed that they share the same values and priorities. The President-elect said that countries cannot develop without a united European Union and that he believes in a strong Poland, and in a strong European Union. He also assured that, as President of Romania, he would work closely with Rafał Trzaskowski and Donald Tusk. On 13 May, in turn, nationalist Romanian presidential candidate George Simion came to Poland to support his opponent, the Law and Justice Party-backed Nawrocki. The second round of the presidential election in Poland will take place on 1 June. The demonstration, organised under the slogan 'Let's save our public health', highlighted the growing public unease over what they see as the privatisation and dismantling of Madrid's public health system. Organised by the platform 'Vecinas y vecinos de los barrios y pueblos de la Comunidad de Madrid', the protest started simultaneously from four strategic points in the capital. This mass mobilisation reflects the widespread concern about the current state of public healthcare in the city and the policies implemented by the regional government. Demonstrators criticised the "unbearable delays in primary care" and the shortage of staff. The manifesto read during the rally denounced the existence of a million people on waiting lists and "tens of thousands of children without a paediatrician assigned to them" in what is Spain's richest region. Ricardo Chacón, representative of the organising platform, said the privatisation of health was "not working" and that it was in private economic interests rather than for the benefit of patients. Luis López, another spokesperson for the group, called for a significant increase in the regional health budget, demanding that at least 25% be earmarked for strengthening primary care. The organisers emphasised the importance of preventive healthcare as a more economical and effective strategy than focusing resources solely on curative treatments. This perspective seeks a paradigm shift in health management in Madrid, prioritising the accessibility and quality of primary health care. The demonstration had a notable representation of left-wing parties and trade unions supporting citizens' demands. Reyes Maroto, Socialist spokesperson in the Madrid City Council, urged support for the "thousands of people who are waiting for a medical appointment" and do not have private insurance as an alternative. Manuela Bergerot, from Más Madrid, offered concrete data on the regional health crisis: 139,000 children without a paediatrician assigned to them and 625,000 patients without a family doctor. The political leader directly linked this situation to privatisation policies, specifically denouncing the relationship between the Quirón Group and the personal entourage of the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. MEP Irene Montero (Podemos party) added an ethical dimension to the debate, saying that without universal access to quality public healthcare "there is no democracy and no dignity of life". Montero also referred to controversy over the Quirón Group's contracts with Ayuso's partner, alleging an increase in payments and privatisations coinciding with this personal relationship. The mobilisation of citizens in defence of Madrid's public health system is evidence of a growing political polarisation around regional health management. While the demonstrators demand a reversal of privatisation policies.
Euronews
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
President-elect of Romania gives his support to Rafal Trzaskowski
Romanian President-elect Dan met with Prime Minister Tusk at the Prime Minister's Office a week before the second round of the presidential election kicks off in Poland. Two large marches in support of the two leading candidates - Rafał Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki - are being held in central Warsaw on Sunday. Nicușor Dan, the pro-European mayor of Bucharest took part in the so-called 'Great Patriots March' in support of Civic Coalition candidate Rafal Trzaskowski. The Romanian leader's support for Trzaskowski, who is currently the Mayor of Warsaw, is above all a sign of support for European values. During a speech at the march, Romanian President-elect Dan stressed that they share the same values and priorities. The President-elect also said that countries cannot develop without a united European Union and that he believes in a strong Poland in a strong European Union. He added that, as President of Romania, he would work closely with Rafał Trzaskowski and Prime Minister Tusk. On 13 May, the nationalist Romanian presidential candidate George Simion also came to Poland to support Law and Justice Party-backed candidate Karol Nawrocki, Trzaskowski's opponent. A march was held in support of Nawrocki on the day in the Warsaw capital. The second round of elections in Poland will take place on 1 June. Pope Leo XIV on Sunday asked for prayers for China's Catholics to be in communion with the Holy See, as he made his first public remarks about one of the thorniest foreign policy issues facing his new pontificate. The pope recalled that the Catholic Church marked a special feast day on Saturday to pray for the church in China. Pope Benedict XVI had initiated the feast day as part of his efforts to unify China's estimated 12 million Catholics, who were divided between an official, state-controlled church that didn't recognise papal authority and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution. Leo noted that on the feast day, 'in the churches and shrines in China and throughout the world, prayers have been raised to God as a sign of the solicitude and affection for Chinese Catholics and their communion with the universal church.' Speaking from his studio window during his noontime blessing, Leo prayed that Catholics in China and elsewhere 'obtain the grace to be strong and joyful witnesses of the Gospel, even in the midst of trials, to always promote peace and harmony.' Pope Francis took Benedict's unifying efforts further by approving a controversial deal in 2018 over bishop nominations. The details of the deal were never released, but it affords the state-controlled church a say in its church leaders, though Francis insisted he retained veto power over the ultimate choice. The deal has been criticised by some, especially on the Catholic right, for having caved to Beijing's demands and sold out the underground faithful in China. The Vatican has said it was the best deal it could get, and it has been renewed periodically since then. Leo will have to decide whether to continue renewing the accord. There have been some apparent violations on the Beijing side with some unilateral appointments that occurred without papal consent. The issue came to a head just before the conclave that elected Pope Leo, when the Chinese church proceeded with the preliminary election of two bishops, a step that comes before official consecration. Leo told the archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Stephen Chow, that he had 'visited China several times and got to know the Chinese culture and reality,' according to the Fides missionary news agency, citing comments Chow made in his diocesan weekly newsletter after the conclave. Chow added that he expected Leo would follow Francis' direction for the church in China. He said he had given Leo a small statue of Our Lady of Sheshan, a statue of the Madonna that is particularly venerated by Chinese faithful and is celebrated on the feast day, 24 May. Chow, a Jesuit, said he had implored Leo 'to not forget the church in China and the Chinese people,' according to the newsletter. 'He nodded his head to indicate that he would not forget,' according to Fides. The Vatican has been working for years to try to improve relations with China that were officially severed over seven decades ago when the Communists came to power. Relations had long been stymied over China's insistence on its exclusive right to name bishops as a matter of national sovereignty, while the Vatican insisted on the pope's exclusive right to name the successors of the original Apostles.
