Posted on 10/10/2005 9:19:57 AM PDT by knighthawk
The final count in Poland's presidential election confirmed Monday that the pro-market lawmaker Donald Tusk won more votes than conservative Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczynski, but fell short of a majority needed for an outright victory in a first round of balloting.
Tusk, the smooth-mannered deputy parliament speaker, had 36.3 percent of the votes from Sunday's election, while the outspoken Kaczynski had 33.1 percent.
Tusk vowed to next take his campaign to small towns and villages to win over rural voters ahead of the runoff election Oct. 23.
The race in the formerly communist country centered on the Europe-wide issue of just how far to go in sacrificing welfare state protections for the promise of an economy with fewer social benefits but faster growth and job creation.
Tusk wants a 15 percent flat tax rate on personal and corporate earnings, while Kaczynski favors a greater role for the state in protecting the social safety net and promoting Roman Catholic values. He wants tax cuts, but would keep the system under which high earners pay more - and would give deductions for big families.
(Excerpt) Read more at lasvegassun.com ...
If people want on or off this list, please let me know.
One can only hope that it truly is Europe-wide and that they figure it out.
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