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Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Poland holds tight presidential polls with EU role at stake
Voters in Poland began casting ballots on Sunday in a tight presidential election with major implications for the country's role in Europe, and for abortion and LGBTQ rights. Warsaw's pro-EU mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, 53, an ally of the centrist government, was facing off against nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki, 42. Opinion polls suggest the race was too tight to call. Polls close at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) in the country, a member of the EU and Nato that borders Ukraine and has been a key supporter of its neighbour in the war against Russia. An exit poll was expected as soon as ballots close and election officials predicted that the final result will be known on Monday. "I'm voting for Trzaskowski. He's educated, speaks many languages, is intelligent, just all round great," said Agnieszka Lewinska, a 56-year-old cleaner in the town of Halinow just outside the capital. Warsaw pensioner Lila Chojecka, 60, said she cast her ballot for Nawrocki. "Catholic values are important to me. I know he shares them," she told AFP, calling the candidate "hope for Poland". A victory for Trzaskowski would be a major boost for the progressive agenda of the government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former European Council president. It could mean significant social changes such as the introduction of civil partnerships for same-sex couples and an easing of a near-total ban on abortion. Presidents in Poland, a fast-growing economy of 38 million people, have the power to veto legislation and are also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. A victory for Nawrocki would embolden the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023, and could lead to fresh parliamentary elections. Many Nawrocki supporters want stricter curbs on immigration and advocate for conservative values and more sovereignty for the country within the European Union. "We should not give in to European pressure," 40-year-old Agnieszka Prokopiuk, a homemaker, said ahead of the vote. "We need to make our own way... and not succumb to trends from the West," she told AFP in the city of Biala Podlaska in eastern Poland near the Belarus border. Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a politics expert, called the election "a real clash of civilisations" because of the wide policy differences between the candidates. Many Trzaskowski voters support greater integration within the EU and an acceleration of social reforms. Malgorzata Wojciechowska, a tour guide and teacher in her fifties, said Polish women "unfortunately do not have the same rights as our European friends". "I hope that Rafal Trzaskowski will relaunch the debate on abortion so that we can finally live in a free country where we can have our own opinion," she told AFP. The election is also being watched closely in Ukraine, which is seeking to bolster international support in its negotiations with Russia as Moscow's invasion grinds on. Nawrocki, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, opposes Nato membership for Kyiv and has called for curbs on benefits for the estimated one million Ukrainian refugees in Poland. He used his last campaign hours on Friday to leave flowers at a monument to Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II. "It was a genocide against the Polish people," he said. The election's final result is expected to hinge on whether Trzaskowski can mobilise enough supporters and whether far-right voters will cast their ballots for Nawrocki. Far-right candidates secured more than 21 per cent of the vote in the election's first round, which Trzaskowski won by a razor-thin margin of 31 percent against 30 per cent for Nawrocki.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rafał Trzaskowski: Warsaw mayor with foreign policy experience
Pro-EU presidential candidate Rafał Trzaskowski, a close ally of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, is a political scientist and one of the most prominent intellectuals in Poland's liberal-conservative camp. The 53-year-old with the fashionable three-day stubble only just missed election in 2020, when he came in behind outgoing right-wing President Andrzej Duda. Warsaw Mayor Trzaskowski studied in Paris and Oxford and speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian and Russian in addition to his native Polish. During Tusk's first term in office, he was appointed minister for administration and digitalization in 2013, going on to become deputy foreign minister. Trzaskowski has been mayor of the capital since 2018, sweeping to victory in the first round on re-election last year. While he has modernized Warsaw by extending public transport and investing in culture, he has also drawn criticism for wasting public funds. Construction of a lavatory in a park cost €150,000 ($170,000) – an amount that would buy a home in rural Poland. Trzaskowski is internationally experienced, intelligent, handsome and mediagenic, but evident membership of the cosmopolitan elite makes few friends among the country's small farmers. In Tusk's ruling liberal-conservative coalition, the father of two is seen as on the left due to support of LGBT rights, his regular appearance at Pride Parades and his removal of crucifixes from Warsaw administrative offices. In strongly Catholic rural Poland, he is seen as abandoning traditional values.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Trzaskowski: pro-EU polyglot eyeing Polish presidency
Centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, running neck-and-neck with his nationalist rival ahead of Poland's presidential runoff, is an avowed Europhile pledging to relax abortion laws and protect LGBTQ rights. Trzaskowski narrowly won the first round of voting on May 18, polling 31 percent against 30 percent for Karol Nawrocki, a historian backed by the conservative opposition. "I promise you that I will be a president who unites, who is ready to talk to everyone," Trzaskowski promised a crowd of supporters as he rallied for support a week before the runoff. A former deputy foreign minister, the 53-year-old is also the son of a jazz pioneer and great-grandson of the man who created Poland's first secondary schools for girls. Trzaskowski is backed by the governing Civic Coalition party of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and will face off against Nawrocki, the Law and Justice candidate. Trzaskowski narrowly lost his first presidential bid in 2020 to the conservative Andrzej Duda, who backs Nawrocki. - Early start - Trzaskowski comes from an intellectual Warsaw family. His father Andrzej was a famous pianist during the 1950s, when jazz was considered the music of the "enemy" under the Iron Curtain. Trzaskowski himself started out in politics in a seismic year for the former Soviet bloc -- 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down. A teenager at the time, he quit school and worked as a volunteer campaigning during the first free elections in Poland, which marked the end of the communist era. He graduated from the University of Warsaw, where he later earned a doctorate with a thesis on EU reform. He has also studied in Oxford and Paris, and at the College of Europe outside Warsaw. He speaks English, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish and worked for a time as an English teacher. As a Francophile, he has even earned the nickname "Bonjour", or hello in French -- a jab from critics who view Trzaskowski as elitist. In 2000, he worked on Poland's accession to the European Union, then became an adviser to the Civic Platform delegation in the European Parliament. He became an EU lawmaker in 2009, and in 2013 joined an earlier government led by Tusk, who went on to become president of the European Council. Trzaskowski first served as technology minister and then deputy foreign minister. As a member of the Polish parliament between 2015 and 2018, he was elected vice president of the European People's Party in 2017. Trzaskowski was elected mayor of Warsaw in 2018 and re-elected in 2024, but critics say he has failed to do enough while in office. - 'Absurd' - Trzaskowski, who is married with two children, has vowed to campaign for women's rights and legalise abortion in the predominantly Catholic country, which has a near-total ban on the procedure. In March, on International Women's Day, he promised to ensure that "this medieval anti-abortion law becomes a thing of the past". He has said he would back measures to allow abortion until the 12th week -- a move pledged by the Civic Coalition, which has yet to vote the changes through in parliament. On LGBTQ rights, another hot-button issue in Poland, Trzaskowski has said he backed the idea of civil unions, including for same-sex couples. The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Poland for refusing to recognise and protect same-sex couples, who cannot marry or register their partnerships. In an election debate in April, Trzaskowski said it was "completely absurd that two people... who are together their whole lives, cannot visit each other in the hospital or inherit from one another". When he was elected Warsaw mayor, he signed an "LGBT+ Declaration" promising to protect gay people, angering the country's right-wing nationalists, who campaign against a perceived "LGBT ideology". But as he tried to woo voters from across the political spectrum ahead of the runoff, he was photographed chatting over pints with far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen. In a Facebook post he once described his love of old books and stated that he had smoked marijuana in his youth but only "rarely". He owns a French bulldog named Babel ("Bubble"), with whom he frequently poses for photos. bur-mmp/amj/srg/lb
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The future of Europe will be decided in this election
Poland's presidential elections are slated to have a nail-biting conclusion. Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzakowski narrowly triumphed in the first round on May 18 but his once significant polling lead in the second runoff vanished in the final days. Independent candidate Karol Nawrocki is nipping at his heels and has the momentum heading into election day on June 1. The clash between Trzakowski and Nawrocki is much more than a standard fare liberal-conservative rivalry. It is a contest that has seismic implications for Polish society and the balance of political forces in Europe. A Trzakowski victory would reinforce pro-European solidarity and weaken the Nawrocki-aligned Law and Justice Party (PiS)'s crusade against the EU's normative agenda. A Nawrocki victory would be a triumph for Polish nationalism and provide President Donald Trump's MAGA movement with a stalwart ally on Nato's eastern flank. As the election campaign draws to a close, social issues have been a critical wedge between the two candidates. Trzakowski's campaign has channelled liberal frustrations with the PiS's less-than-inclusive stance on LGBTQ+ rights and support for a near-complete abortion ban. These stances align firmly with Prime Minister Donald Tusk's agenda and provide him with an ally to implement progressive legislation. Nawrocki has mocked Trzakowski's liberal leanings by placing the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag on his lectern and extolled his commitment to Christian values. While it is unclear how his conservative ideological leanings will convert into policy, Nawrocki is almost certain to continue President Andrzej Duda's obstructionism of Tusk's progressive vision. The stakes for Poland's position within the Trans-Atlantic network are equally stark. Since Trump's return to the White House, Tusk has towed a delicate line between EU and US perspectives on continental security. Tusk has emphasised European self-sufficiency in the defence sector and supported Poland's pursuit of an autonomous nuclear deterrent. On March 31, Tusk signed a $2 billion agreement with the US for training and logistical support for its Patriot missile defence program. Poland's two presidential frontrunners favour a lean-to-one-side approach to the EU-US chasm. Trzakowski will seek to end the PiS-era normative disputes with the EU over the rule of law, migration and LGBTQ+ rights. In addition to securing EU funding, Trzakowski will also champion Ukraine's entry into Nato. This stance clashes with Trump's aversion to Ukrainian Nato membership and Nawrocki's insistence that Ukraine can only join the alliance if it accepts guilt for the World War II-era genocide against Poles in Volhynia. Nawrocki has built on the Trump administration's overt sympathy for right-wing populist candidates and forged robust alliances on the American right. On May 2, Nawrocki met with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at The White House. At the May 27 CPAC Poland conference, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem declared 'Donald Trump is a strong leader for us but has an opportunity to have just as strong of a leader in Karol if you make him leader of this country.' Due to their diametrically opposed visions and the emotionally charged nature of the campaign, the Polish elections have witnessed the same kind of warnings about anti-democratic behaviour as we recently saw in Romania. According to Poland's state anti-disinformation watchdog NASK, a foreign-funded NGO has used Meta to promote pro-Trzakowski and anti-Nawrocki messages. Nawrocki has accused Trzakowski of soliciting funding from Germany and billionaire George Soros, and Trzakowski has threatened litigation in response to these allegations. Poland's national cybersecurity authorities have retorted with warnings about Russian interference in the Polish elections. Russian information warriors falsified Ukrainian House correspondences about organising a pro-Trzakowksi election rally and have linked Trzakowski to the much-despised Nazi-aligned Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera. Just like how pro-Kremlin TikTok influencers enabled Calin Georgescu's implausible rise in Romania, Russian-aligned cyberwarriors are providing unwitting support for Nawrocki's insurgent campaign. The heated debates about the state of Polish democracy feed into disagreements about Poland's foreign policy orientation. The laser focus of pro-EU organisations on Russian disinformation and the European Commission's silence about Trzakowski's foreign-backed NGO ally is striking. US House Foreign Relations Committee chair Brian Mast's castigation of EU favouritism for Trzakowski and willingness to gloss over the Russian disinformation threat is equally noteworthy. As millions of Poles arrive at their polling stations on June 1, there is much more than a presidential pick on the ballot. Depending on the outcome, Tusk's liberal pro-EU agenda could be empowered or derailed across the continent. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
a day ago
- General
- Telegraph
The future of Europe will be decided in this election
Poland's presidential elections are slated to have a nail-biting conclusion. Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzakowski narrowly triumphed in the first round on May 18 but his once significant polling lead in the second runoff vanished in the final days. Independent candidate Karol Nawrocki is nipping at his heels and has the momentum heading into election day on June 1. The clash between Trzakowski and Nawrocki is much more than a standard fare liberal-conservative rivalry. It is a contest that has seismic implications for Polish society and the balance of political forces in Europe. A Trzakowski victory would reinforce pro-European solidarity and weaken the Nawrocki-aligned Law and Justice Party (PiS)'s crusade against the EU's normative agenda. A Nawrocki victory would be a triumph for Polish nationalism and provide President Donald Trump's MAGA movement with a stalwart ally on Nato's eastern flank. As the election campaign draws to a close, social issues have been a critical wedge between the two candidates. Trzakowski's campaign has channelled liberal frustrations with the PiS's less-than-inclusive stance on LGBTQ+ rights and support for a near-complete abortion ban. These stances align firmly with Prime Minister Donald Tusk's agenda and provide him with an ally to implement progressive legislation. Nawrocki has mocked Trzakowski's liberal leanings by placing the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag on his lectern and extolled his commitment to Christian values. While it is unclear how his conservative ideological leanings will convert into policy, Nawrocki is almost certain to continue President Andrzej Duda's obstructionism of Tusk's progressive vision. The stakes for Poland's position within the Trans-Atlantic network are equally stark. Since Trump's return to the White House, Tusk has towed a delicate line between EU and US perspectives on continental security. Tusk has emphasised European self-sufficiency in the defence sector and supported Poland's pursuit of an autonomous nuclear deterrent. On March 31, Tusk signed a $2 billion agreement with the US for training and logistical support for its Patriot missile defence program. Poland's two presidential frontrunners favour a lean-to-one-side approach to the EU-US chasm. Trzakowski will seek to end the PiS-era normative disputes with the EU over the rule of law, migration and LGBTQ+ rights. In addition to securing EU funding, Trzakowski will also champion Ukraine's entry into Nato. This stance clashes with Trump's aversion to Ukrainian Nato membership and Nawrocki's insistence that Ukraine can only join the alliance if it accepts guilt for the World War II-era genocide against Poles in Volhynia. Nawrocki has built on the Trump administration's overt sympathy for right-wing populist candidates and forged robust alliances on the American right. On May 2, Nawrocki met with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at The White House. At the May 27 CPAC Poland conference, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem declared 'Donald Trump is a strong leader for us but has an opportunity to have just as strong of a leader in Karol if you make him leader of this country.' Due to their diametrically opposed visions and the emotionally charged nature of the campaign, the Polish elections have witnessed the same kind of warnings about anti-democratic behaviour as we recently saw in Romania. According to Poland's state anti-disinformation watchdog NASK, a foreign-funded NGO has used Meta to promote pro-Trzakowski and anti-Nawrocki messages. Nawrocki has accused Trzakowski of soliciting funding from Germany and billionaire George Soros, and Trzakowski has threatened litigation in response to these allegations. Poland's national cybersecurity authorities have retorted with warnings about Russian interference in the Polish elections. Russian information warriors falsified Ukrainian House correspondences about organising a pro-Trzakowksi election rally and have linked Trzakowski to the much-despised Nazi-aligned Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera. Just like how pro-Kremlin TikTok influencers enabled Calin Georgescu's implausible rise in Romania, Russian-aligned cyberwarriors are providing unwitting support for Nawrocki's insurgent campaign. The heated debates about the state of Polish democracy feed into disagreements about Poland's foreign policy orientation. The laser focus of pro-EU organisations on Russian disinformation and the European Commission's silence about Trzakowski's foreign-backed NGO ally is striking. US House Foreign Relations Committee chair Brian Mast's castigation of EU favouritism for Trzakowski and willingness to gloss over the Russian disinformation threat is equally noteworthy. As millions of Poles arrive at their polling stations on June 1, there is much more than a presidential pick on the ballot. Depending on the outcome, Tusk's liberal pro-EU agenda could be empowered or derailed across the continent.
