Polish presidential election (exit polls)

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/23/poland.election.ap/index.html ^

[Tarkin]

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Tough-talking Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczynski led Poland's presidential runoff Sunday after a campaign in which he stressed traditional Roman Catholic values and the need for a social safety net.

An exit poll for Polish public television showed him leading with 52.8 percent to 47.2 percent over pro-market legislator Donald Tusk, and Tusk said he had lost.

"Today I must tell myself I did not make it," Tusk told glum supporters at his election headquarters.

An exit poll for TVN24 private television showed an even wider margin, Kaczynski with 53.5 percent and Tusk with 46.5 percent. Partial returns were not expected for several hours, and full results sometime Monday.

Both candidates are right of center, but Tusk is more oriented toward market economics and favors a flat tax. Kaczynski wants tax cuts, but prefers the system under which high earners pay more and proposes tax breaks for those with large families (...)

[dangus]

Both are very conservative by US standards, but Kaczynski is more of an Alan Keyes (pre-Illinois breakdown) type, while Tusk is more of a Forbes type.