| Disillusioned Poland swings to the right but most voters stay at home
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THE Centre Right swept to victory in the Polish general election yesterday, ousting a post-communist government tainted by corruption and economic mismanagement. Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s national conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, and Jan Rokita’s liberal conservative Civic Platform (PO) were heading for a combined tally of about 60 per cent of the vote, according to exit polls. Mr Kaczynski, the probable next Prime Minister, was quick to declare his party the winners. “All points to our victory . . . It turned out that those who backed decisive change were in a large majority in this election,” he said. “These elections mark the end of the post-communist era,” Mr Rokita said. He and Mr Kaczynski have pledged to form a government together, although they are divided over how far to go in embracing the free market and how much welfare Poland, with wealth levels at half the EU average, can afford. The two parties making up the new coalition have promised radical reforms, such as introducing the British first-past-the-post electoral system. They also say they will weed out corruption that marred the four-year rule of the Democratic Left Alliance and curb unemployment, which at 18 per cent is the highest in the EU. They concur on policy towards Russia, and have vowed to lobby other EU states to take a tougher line on increasing authoritarianism in the Kremlin. The plight of ethnic Poles in the Moscow-backed dictatorship of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus and Russian attempts to dominate Western Europe’s oil supply have been major election issues. But the PO and PiS still have major disagreements about fiscal policy, with the PO proposing a 15 per cent flat tax, and the PiS fighting for higher taxation and welfare spending. As the election campaign came to a close, the PiS ran television broadcasts claiming that too much power in the hands of its coalition partners would reduce the food on Polish tables. The PO is also eager to ditch the national currency in favour of the euro, while the PiS wants to wait until after the economy has been turned around. The ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), made up of former communists, whose reputation has been destroyed by scandals and their alleged ties to old cronies in Russia, were set to gain about 11 per cent. It was the party’s worst result since communist rule collapsed in 1989. With Jaroslaw Kaczynski set to become Prime Minister, Poles were last night wondering how his identical twin brother would fare. On October 9 Lech Kaczynski, the Mayor of Warsaw, is running in presidential elections. Jaroslaw has dispelled media speculation of the doppel-gängers taking the posts of President and Prime Minister of Poland, promising to resign if Lech is elected. Polls indicate that this could be a moot point, since the PO’s candidate, Donald Tusk, is ahead at 39 per cent, with Lech Kaczynski trailing four points behind. Both Kaczynskis have traditional values and a tough line on corruption. Jaroslaw Kaczynski is reported to have said that homosexuals should not be allowed to teach in Polish schools. Before the elections the outgoing President, Aleksander Kwasniewski, gave warning that the conservative landslide “would mean the triumph of one side”, which “carries the seed of arrogance, pride and mistakes”. In saying this he was targeting Poles who remember former Solidarity activists coming into politics after the fall of communism. Many Poles think they failed because of infighting, which enabled former communists to rebrand themselves and return to power, only to sink into unpopularity again. Some Poles are concerned that history is repeating itself. “All we do since we got our democracy is keep voting out failed governments,” Jerzy Rydleski, 44, a dentist on his way home from polling, said. “I want this next one to last.” Other opposition parties in the new Sejm include Self- Defence, led by Andrzej Lepper, a firebrand former pig farmer, and the League of Polish Families, led by the ultra-Catholic Roman Giertych. Yesterday’s was the fifth free parliamentary election since Poles shook off communist rule and adopted multiparty democracy. But cynicism about politicians of every hue resulted in a record low turnout, with only 40.3 per cent of eligible voters casting their ballots. IN FIGURES Law and Justice (conservative) 28.3% (9.5%) Civic Platform (free-market conservatives) 26.4% (12.7%) Democratic Left Alliance (post-communist) 11.1% (41%) Self-Defence (far left) 10.2% (10.2%) League of Polish Families (far right) 8.3% (7.9%) Peasants’ Party (rural protectionist) 5.7% (9%)
Predictions for leading candidates in presidential election on October 9: Donald Tusk (Civic Platform) 38.9%; Lech Kaczynski (Law and Justice) 34.8% |
