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New York Times
2 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Poland's Presidential Election Goes Down to the Wire
A pivotal presidential election on Sunday in Poland was too close to call, with exit polls putting the two contenders nearly neck and neck as voting ended and an official count of the ballots began. Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, appeared to be narrowly ahead in the runoff election, but by such a small margin that it was unclear whether he would prevail in the official vote tally due on Monday. Mr. Trzaskowski nonetheless claimed victory. 'Dear ladies and gentlemen — we won!' he declared to supporters Sunday evening in Warsaw. 'I think that the term 'razor-thin victory' will enter the Polish language.' The results of usually reliable exit polling, broadcast by public and private television stations Sunday evening after polling stations closed, gave Mr. Trzaskowsk a tiny advantage, with 50.3 percent of the vote. His rival, Karol Nawrocki, a nationalist historian backed by Poland's previous right-wing governing party, Law and Justice, had 49.7 percent. Mr. Nawrocki told his own supporters after the exit poll data came out that the official results would show him to be the victor. 'Dear people, we will win,' he said. 'Tonight we will win and save Poland.' The turnout was 72.8 percent, the highest in a Polish presidential election since the first free and direct vote for the presidency in 1990, when Lech Walesa, the Solidarity trade union leader, won after the collapse of communism. The election has been widely viewed as a test of whether populist nationalism is a rising or receding force in Europe and beyond. A hard fought campaign drew in supporters and foes of President Trump on both sides of the Atlantic. The Trump administration, along with Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary and other right-wing politicians, including the defeated Trump-admiring nationalist candidate in a recent presidential election in Romania, were rooting for Mr. Nawrocki. Europe's mainstream political forces supported Mr. Trzaskowski. The election hinged on the question of whether Polish voters want a president who can work with the sitting government of Poland's centrist prime minister, Donald Tusk, or one who opposes it. The closeness of the race highlighted Poland's polarization between right-wing nationalist forces opposed to Mr. Tusk and centrists who support him. The election of Mr. Trzaskowski, who was backed by Mr. Tusk's party, Civic Platform, would likely end a long period of political deadlock that began when Law and Justice lost its majority in Parliament in a 2023 election but retained control of the separately elected presidency. The presidency is a largely ceremonial role, but the president has veto power over legislation passed by Parliament. The departing, term-limited president, Andrzej Duda, used this power to obstruct efforts by Mr. Tusk's government to reverse the legacy of eight years of populist rule by Law and Justice. A win for Mr. Nawrocki would continue and even harden this deadlock. Anatol Magdziarz contributed reporting.
Times
3 days ago
- General
- Times
Is Poland about to elect a hooligan ‘pimp' as president?
The Baltic port of Gdansk has been a crucible of some of the most significant events in modern European history. The opening salvos of the Second World War were fired from its harbour. And 50 years later, the Solidarity trade union movement forged in its shipyards toppled Poland's communist dictatorship, propelling a mustachioed electrician called Lech Walesa to the presidency and then to the Nobel peace prize. Now another son of Gdansk, who trained as a boxer on the same vast shipbuilding complex from which Walesa rallied the nation, is threatening to upset the country — and the continent's — political order. • He's already lost — but could still decide who wins Poland's election Karol Nawrocki, 42, a right-wing historian with a background in football hooliganism who has never previously held elected office, stands a solid chance of winning the Polish presidency on Sunday. Should he triumph, he has given every indication that he will take a wrecking ball to the centrist agenda of prime minister Donald Tusk, using the head of state's powers to obstruct him wherever possible. Poland's neighbours are increasingly alarmed at the prospect. 'A Nawrocki presidency would be a nightmare,' said one European diplomat. It is a sentiment shared by Walesa, 81, who posted on X: 'My last request … and warning — anyone but Nawrocki!' Until six months ago, Nawrocki was largely unknown to anyone outside his particular academic niche. For all but the final weeks of the campaign he languished in the polls, far behind Rafal Trzaskowski, 53, the mayor of Warsaw and Tusk's preferred candidate. Over the past ten days he has also been bombarded by allegations about his past that might have destroyed a mainstream politician: participation in mass street brawls, contacts in the criminal underworld and claims that he procured prostitutes for guests at a luxury hotel — which he strenuously denies. Yet Nawrocki has the backing of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, one of the most ruthless and effective populist electoral machines in Europe, and its mastermind Jarosław Kaczynski. In 2017, only four years after he completed his doctorate in history, Nawrocki was plucked from obscurity by Kaczynski to run Gdansk's imposing Museum of the Second World War. One of Poland's flagship historical institutions, he turned it into a showcase for Kaczynski's black-and-white vision of an innocent country that suffered more than any other from the conflict. • Poland's pivotal election could deliver abortion pledge at last 'He was unknown in academic circles,' said Pawel Machcewicz, a former senior adviser to Tusk who was the museum's founding director until he was ejected to make way for Nawrocki. 'His approach 100 per cent reflects the politics of history of the Law and Justice party. One can call it nationalistic: emphasising the exceptional heroism and martyrdom of Poles in the 20th century, rejecting any more critical approaches to our history.' In 2021 Nawrocki was promoted to lead the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), a public body tasked with investigating crimes against the Polish nation and vetting newly appointed public officials for ties to communist-era state security bodies. Figures in PiS say he was then chosen to run for the presidency because he combined the loyalty and reliability of a party footsoldier — despite never having been a card-carrying member — with a clean skin in political terms, untainted by the party's controversial years in government from 2015 to 2023. • Inside the fight to shut down Poland's 'propaganda machine' The idea was that this would allow him to unite Poland's fractious right, luring back voters who have drifted away towards more extremist candidates such as Sławomir Mentzen, a radical libertarian, and Grzegorz Braun, an unabashed antisemite. 'A non-party candidate offers the opportunity to gain broader support in the elections,' said Radoslaw Fogiel, an MP and former PiS spin doctor who serves on the party's national executive. 'Karol Nawrocki's greatest strengths as a political figure lie in his staunchly patriotic and sovereigntist stance.' Under the intense media scrutiny of recent weeks, however, Nawrocki's skin has turned out not to be quite so clean as it once appeared. Alongside a loyalty to Chelsea football club so profound he once had its logo tattooed on his chest, Nawrocki was also for many years a fanatical supporter of his local football team, Lechia Gdansk, and its firm of thuggish hardcore fans who call themselves the 'hooligans of the Free City'. Over the past fortnight he has admitted that in 2009 he took part in 70-a-side punch-ups with fans of rival clubs, alongside scores of convicted criminals armed with clubs and brass knuckles. Nawrocki has tried to shrug these melees off as 'noble' battles. Others, however, regard them as a symptom of something darker. 'Taking part in an arranged fight is a crime — it constitutes participation in a brawl,' said Szymon Jadczak, an investigative writer for the Wirtualna Polska news website who specialises in football hooliganism. He has identified 35 participants in Nawrocki's 2009 forest brawl with a detailed list of more than 130 court convictions between them. Nawrocki's contacts with football hooligans and criminals also lasted well beyond 2009. Last year he was photographed with Patryk Masiak, a fellow Lechia supporter and MMA fighter who served time in prison for abducting a woman and is facing additional court proceedings for participation in an organised crime group and pimping. 'These are ongoing accusations, and Mr Nawrocki does not deny his acquaintance [with Masiak],' said Jadczak. The candidate has characterised his relationship with Masiak as 'former sparring partners'. A more lurid raft of allegations surfaced this week when Onet, another news website, published an investigation that accused Nawrocki of having moonlighted as a pimp during a stint working as a security guard at the Grand Hotel in Sopot, a coastal resort near Gdansk. Nawrocki denied the report and said he would sue Onet — although rather than using a 24-hour judicial process designed for rapid rebuttal in elections he has opted for a standard libel case, which may take years to come to a conclusion. Separately, it emerged that Nawrocki had acquired a flat from a disabled elderly man in exchange for a promise to care for him for life, but reneged on his pledge. The original owner was found living in a state care home without any assistance from Nawrocki, who has since offered to donate the apartment to charity. PiS functionaries and the outgoing President Duda, an ally of the party, have dismissed these negative headlines as either baseless political smears or forgivable 'mistakes of youth'. Timothy Garton Ash, professor of European studies at Oxford University and an expert on Poland, said: 'One would need to check the detail on every story: extorting a flat from an elderly alcoholic, pimping for prostitutes, stories about financial improprieties at the Institute of National Remembrance. 'Some give the impression of someone who has neither the character nor the professional qualifications to be president of a very important European country at a very important juncture in European history.' Yet Nawrocki is not without international support. President Trump, who has a soft spot for Duda and the PiS party, invited him into the Oval Office for a photo opportunity, and last week Kristi Noem, the US homeland security secretary, implied that only a Nawrocki presidency could ensure that American troops remained in Poland. 'Donald Trump is a strong leader for us, but you have an opportunity to have just as strong of a leader in Karol if you make him the leader of this country,' she said on a visit to Rzeszow. 'If you elect a leader who will work with President Trump, the Polish people will have a strong ally … You will continue to have a US military presence here.' The final polls suggest that Nawrocki and Trzaskowski are separated by a fraction of a percentage point in the electoral race. Turnout may prove decisive. The Polish media environment has become so poisonous that the allegations against Nawrocki may even be helping him. There are signs that fringe right-wing voters are rallying to his cause because they regard him as a political martyr. Pawel Rybicki, an adviser to the Nawrocki campaign, said the candidate had been subjected to the 'dirtiest game in the history of Polish politics since [the start of democracy in] 1989. 'Most of the media, including state media, are openly on Trzaskowski's side. Poles do not like intrusive propaganda, which is why the current actions of the media and authorities against Nawrocki are rather contributing to an increase in support for him. 'Poles have simply assumed that the government is panicking in fear of Nawrocki's victory.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland votes in tight election as Europe watches
Poland voted on Sunday in a tight presidential election that will be decisive for the future of the country's pro-EU government as well as for abortion and LGBTQ rights. Centrist Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski is expected to win 30 percent of the vote, according to opinion polls, ahead of nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki on 25 percent. That would put both through to a run-off on June 1 at a fraught moment for Europe. Russia's invasion of Ukraine drags on, far-right populists continue to make electoral gains and ties with Washington are under strain. Voting ends at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT), when exit polls are expected. The final official results of the contest, in which 13 candidates are running, are expected on Monday. "These are very important elections," voter Marcin Woloszynski, a 42-year-old economist, told AFP. "They offer two diametrically opposed visions of Poland... a democratic, European, open, confident, honest Poland on one side, and the opposite on the other," he said after casting his ballot in Warsaw, where support for Trzaskowski is particularly high. Ever since Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition came to power in 2023, key government initiatives have been blocked by vetoes from nationalist President Andrzej Duda. Anti-communist icon Lech Walesa, who in 1990 became Poland's first democratically elected president since World War II, said the election was a "chance to restore order in our country". "This is a time of big discussions over the future of Poland, Europe and the world," he was quoted by Poland's PAP news agency as saying. Turnout was 50.69 percent at 5:00 pm -- higher than the 47.89 percent at the same time in the first round of the last presidential election in 2020. - Foreign policy, social issues - The electoral campaign in Poland -- a member of both the European Union and NATO -- has largely revolved around foreign policy, showcasing a clash of philosophies over Poland's engagement with the EU and the United States. But social issues have also played a major part. Trzaskowski, 53, has promised to support abortion and LGBTQ rights. "These elections are about rights for women and minorities, rights for children and animals," said Anna Rusztynska-Wolska, a 69-year-old doctor, after voting. "They are about security in the European Union and in the world because the more Poland is a country that respects the rule of law (and is) rich and well-managed, the better it will be for all of us," she said. The former ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), which backs Nawrocki, was frequently at odds with Poland's Western allies and EU institutions in Brussels over rule-of-law concerns. Nawrocki, 42, is an admirer of US President Donald Trump. He said Trump told him: "You will win" when they met at the White House earlier this month. The key to the election could be whether supporters of Slawomir Mentzen, a far-right candidate polling in third position with around 12 percent, cast their ballots for Nawrocki in the second round. Mentzen is a eurosceptic libertarian staunchly opposed to abortion and migrants. He has accused the country's one million Ukrainian refugees of taking advantage of Poland. Echoing some of Mentzen's rhetoric, self-employed 25-year-old Radoslaw Wiecek said he did not want Poland to be "totally subject to the EU". Speaking on the eve of the vote, Wiecek said he wanted "a fresh wind" to end the dominance of the two main political groups -- Law and Justice and the Civic Coalition (KO) that backs Trzaskowski. For Anna Urbanska, a 74-year-old pensioner, the key electoral issue was immigration, which has risen sharply in recent years. "I don't want these immigrants to be allowed in here, in Poland. I want us to be able to live more peacefully," she said. - High stakes for Europe - The governing coalition is hopeful a victory by Trzaskowski would enable it to fulfil its hitherto undelivered campaign pledges. Tusk's administration has been prevented from easing Poland's stringent abortion laws and introducing other changes by the president's power of veto, to the disappointment of some voters. Poland's head of state is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, steers foreign policy and can introduce and veto legislation. The stakes are high for Europe. Under Tusk, a former EU leader, Poland has grown more important on the continent, reinforcing its position as a key voice on NATO's eastern flank against Russia. bur-dt/jj
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Silencing Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty is a gift to autocrats
In 1989, with breathtaking speed, the Communist dictatorships that had ruled Eastern Europe for more than 40 years fell. Two years later, their sponsor, the Soviet Union, disintegrated. A crucial factor contributing to the decay and fall of these autocratic regimes was freedom of information. People across the region learned of the latest developments, of brave demonstrators and heroes such as Vaclav Havel and Lech Walesa, from Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. It was not propaganda they heard, nor was it stories of life in America — that was the role of Voice of America. Rather, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty reported on life in their listeners' own countries, in their own languages, telling people what their regimes would not. First started as a Cold War tool funded by the CIA, these services were reshaped and merged into a private independent corporation under the supervision of what is now the U.S. Agency for Global Media and funded by Congress. I served as director of research for Radio Free Europe during the momentous years of 1989 to 1991. This gave me a day-to-day, inside look at the extraordinary work done by dedicated journalists, editors, technicians and by brave freelance reporters working in the countries we covered. It is worth remembering, especially by those disparaging Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, that roughly two-thirds of those working for these media organizations are not permanent employees but freelance reporters. These journalists risk their lives and freedom to report from countries under dictatorships, whose leaders are deeply hostile to the U.S. and even more hostile to the spread of information they don't control. In Russia, even to call the invasion of Ukraine a 'war,' rather than a 'special military operation,' risks a prison sentence. Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, in its broadcasting to Serbia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan as well as Russia, does not regurgitate such dissembling euphemisms. That is why regimes like the one in Moscow declare them to be enemies of their states. As Mark Pomar, author of 'Cold War Radio,' put it in a recent interview, in Soviet times Radio Liberty was considered the most dangerous of Western broadcasts precisely 'because it dealt far more with domestic issues.' As revolutionary sentiment spread across East Europe, we met every morning to go over the upcoming day's reporting. In the face of such unprecedented upheaval, the dissemination of unsupported rumors, cheerleading or fearmongering was ruled out. Stories for broadcast were based on facts that could be validated, on analysis of actual developments inside the countries. The Radio Free Europe teams supported the challenges to dictatorship, but inflammatory rhetoric was flagged by a broadcast analysis division that listened to and checked our work. At a time of crisis and a turning point in history — like now — simply reporting what was happening was powerful enough. Radio Free Europe was and remains a 'surrogate free press' for people who live where there is none. The outlets provide a reliable, comprehensive picture of developments where people live. They inform people about things that are happening in their own country that the regimes hide or distort, thus validating people's own knowledge and experience — which is usually at odds with regime's media. More broadly, millions of listeners, viewers and readers see on a daily basis how free media should operate in a democracy. In our contemporary environment, one might ask if radio stations are still worth supporting. In fact, the term 'radio' is misleading as the organizations publish written stories, interviews and broadcasts daily across the internet, via YouTube and podcasts on a variety of accessible media, in addition to radio. Precisely because the internet is flooded with disinformation on massive scale by Russia and other autocratic regimes, there needs to be a fact-checked, independent, authentic voice created for people who otherwise would not hear anything like the full story. Do people in Russia know the real numbers of Russian casualties in Ukraine? Do people in Asia know what the Chinese regime is doing to its Uyghur population? They won't, unless services like Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty can stay active. Moreover, information dissemination goes both ways. One of the most vital functions Radio Free Europe serves is to provide accurate analysis and description of what is happening in these countries and regions. People who want to know these countries and create effective policies toward them have a comprehensive source of uncensored information. The research and broadcast teams produce daily articles and reports that delve into the dynamics of countries that are not only closed but also threaten American interests. Both those who live there, those who left and those who have to deal with these countries need an accurate picture. As Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty President and CEO Stephen Capus said, 'This is not the time to cede terrain to the propaganda and censorship of America's adversaries.' Shutting down such a valuable service in the name of 'government efficiency' is as insulting as it is ludicrous. Elon Musk proclaimed on his own information service that 'Nobody listens to them anymore' and that they were 'just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money.' Wrong on all counts. Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty reaches 47 million people a week in 27 different languages, with more than 9 billion videos viewed. Not a bad return for an annual budget of $142 million — two-thousandths of a percent of the federal government's annual budget. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the division of Europe was ended not by an invading army but by an invading idea: that people have a right to know what is happening in their own land and thus a right to take part in decisions made in their name. This is anathema to every would-be autocrat who sees an enemy behind all who might disagree with them. Autocrats know now, as they did in 1989, that they must control the information environment. America should challenge those efforts with the powerful voices we have and, at the very least, not put out of business one of our most valuable instruments of global influence. Ronald H. Linden is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, where he served as director of the European Studies Center and director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies. He was director of research for Radio Free Europe in Munich, Germany from 1989 to 1991. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
26-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Silencing Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty is a gift to autocrats
In 1989, with breathtaking speed, the Communist dictatorships that had ruled Eastern Europe for more than 40 years fell. Two years later, their sponsor, the Soviet Union, disintegrated. A crucial factor contributing to the decay and fall of these autocratic regimes was freedom of information. People across the region learned of the latest developments, of brave demonstrators and heroes such as Vaclav Havel and Lech Walesa, from Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. It was not propaganda they heard, nor was it stories of life in America — that was the role of Voice of America. Rather, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty reported on life in their listeners' own countries, in their own languages, telling people what their regimes would not. First started as a Cold War tool funded by the CIA, these services were reshaped and merged into a private independent corporation under the supervision of what is now the U.S. Agency for Global Media and funded by Congress. I served as director of research for Radio Free Europe during the momentous years of 1989 to 1991. This gave me a day-to-day, inside look at the extraordinary work done by dedicated journalists, editors, technicians and by brave freelance reporters working in the countries we covered. It is worth remembering, especially by those disparaging Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, that roughly two-thirds of those working for these media organizations are not permanent employees but freelance reporters. These journalists risk their lives and freedom to report from countries under dictatorships, whose leaders are deeply hostile to the U.S. and even more hostile to the spread of information they don't control. In Russia, even to call the invasion of Ukraine a 'war,' rather than a 'special military operation,' risks a prison sentence. Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, in its broadcasting to Serbia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan as well as Russia, does not regurgitate such dissembling euphemisms. That is why regimes like the one in Moscow declare them to be enemies of their states. As Mark Pomar, author of 'Cold War Radio,' put it in a recent interview, in Soviet times Radio Liberty was considered the most dangerous of Western broadcasts precisely 'because it dealt far more with domestic issues.' As revolutionary sentiment spread across East Europe, we met every morning to go over the upcoming day's reporting. In the face of such unprecedented upheaval, the dissemination of unsupported rumors, cheerleading or fearmongering was ruled out. Stories for broadcast were based on facts that could be validated, on analysis of actual developments inside the countries. The Radio Free Europe teams supported the challenges to dictatorship, but inflammatory rhetoric was flagged by a broadcast analysis division that listened to and checked our work. At a time of crisis and a turning point in history — like now — simply reporting what was happening was powerful enough. Radio Free Europe was and remains a 'surrogate free press' for people who live where there is none. The outlets provide a reliable, comprehensive picture of developments where people live. They inform people about things that are happening in their own country that the regimes hide or distort, thus validating people's own knowledge and experience — which is usually at odds with regime's media. More broadly, millions of listeners, viewers and readers see on a daily basis how free media should operate in a democracy. In our contemporary environment, one might ask if radio stations are still worth supporting. In fact, the term 'radio' is misleading as the organizations publish written stories, interviews and broadcasts daily across the internet, via YouTube and podcasts on a variety of accessible media, in addition to radio. Precisely because the internet is flooded with disinformation on massive scale by Russia and other autocratic regimes, there needs to be a fact-checked, independent, authentic voice created for people who otherwise would not hear anything like the full story. Do people in Russia know the real numbers of Russian casualties in Ukraine? Do people in Asia know what the Chinese regime is doing to its Uyghur population? They won't, unless services like Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty can stay active. Moreover, information dissemination goes both ways. One of the most vital functions Radio Free Europe serves is to provide accurate analysis and description of what is happening in these countries and regions. People who want to know these countries and create effective policies toward them have a comprehensive source of uncensored information. The research and broadcast teams produce daily articles and reports that delve into the dynamics of countries that are not only closed but also threaten American interests. Both those who live there, those who left and those who have to deal with these countries need an accurate picture. As Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty President and CEO Stephen Capus said, 'This is not the time to cede terrain to the propaganda and censorship of America's adversaries.' Shutting down such a valuable service in the name of 'government efficiency' is as insulting as it is ludicrous. Elon Musk proclaimed on his own information service that 'Nobody listens to them anymore' and that they were 'just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money.' Wrong on all counts. Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty reaches 47 million people a week in 27 different languages, with more than 9 billion videos viewed. Not a bad return for an annual budget of $142 million — two-thousandths of a percent of the federal government's annual budget. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the division of Europe was ended not by an invading army but by an invading idea: that people have a right to know what is happening in their own land and thus a right to take part in decisions made in their name. This is anathema to every would-be autocrat who sees an enemy behind all who might disagree with them. Autocrats know now, as they did in 1989, that they must control the information environment. America should challenge those efforts with the powerful voices we have and, at the very least, not put out of business one of our most valuable instruments of global influence. Ronald H. Linden is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, where he served as director of the European Studies Center and director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies. He was director of research for Radio Free Europe in Munich, Germany from 1989 to 1991.
