What does the Polish election mean for the future of the EU?
Opposition leader Donald Tusk claims ruling PiS party plans 'Polexit'
Poland's bitterly contested parliamentary election on Sunday could determine not only the country's immediate future but its place in the EU and its support for Ukraine.
"The stakes are unusually high," said The Economist. The ruling nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS), seeking an unprecedented third consecutive term, is led by former prime minister and current deputy PM Jarosław Kaczyński. The largest opposition grouping, the centre-right Civic Coalition (KO), is led by Donald Tusk – another former prime minister. Tusk, also the former president of the European Council, told his supporters that the ruling Eurosceptic party was planning – "systematically, in cold blood" – to take Poland out of the EU, which PiS denies.
But the "hatred" between the two men "runs much deeper" than this election, said The Economist; their feud is "almost as old as modern Poland and has come to define much of its politics".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Each man purports to believe the other "poses an existential threat to Poland", said the Financial Times – a nation of nearly 38 million people – "adding to the sense that this election will be the most important for the EU this year".
Opinion polls suggest that PiS will remain the largest party in parliament, according to Reuters, but "may fall short of a majority". This could lead to "legislative paralysis" in Poland, a Nato member state "of crucial logistical importance to the alliance's efforts to aid Ukraine".
What did the papers say?
Poland may be on the eve of a "peaceful revolution", said The New European. PiS is "Europe's most important nationalist, right wing, anti-women, homophobic, anti-European party", wrote Denis MacShane, a former Labour minister for Europe. The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, is also an ally of PiS.
PiS has "nudged Poland steadily to the illiberal right on abortion, media freedom and immigration", said MacShane. It has also "attacked Jews, the European Union, and neighbouring nations, such as Germany". The party "makes the Brexit Tories look like woke liberals". If the party is beaten, it will be "a major setback to the fashionable idea that the Right are on an unstoppable march across Europe".
Since PiS came to power in 2015, it has "repeatedly clashed with the EU" over reforms that critics believe have "politicised the judicial system", said Reuters. Kaczyński has also been "hammering home his party's message that Tusk is a German stooge" and beholden to its interests, as he grew up in a German-speaking household. Polish nationalists are increasingly expressing anti-German sentiment.
Current prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has "packed courts and filled public media with propaganda" over the party's two terms, said The Economist. The "assault on the rule of law" during the party's two terms led the European Commission to "freeze billions of euros of pandemic funds earmarked for Poland".
Carlo Fidanza, an Italian MEP from the same political group as PiS, told Euronews that Poland's stance on Ukraine had been key to the EU's view on Russia's invasion, because of its "very strong opposition to Putin's expansionist policies". The re-election of PiS "would certainly be a factor of stability for the geopolitical posture of the European Union as a whole", he said.
On Sunday, Brussels "will be keeping an eye not only on the election but also on the Polish government's referendum", said the news site. Voters will be asked their view on four proposals: admitting migrants from the Middle East and Africa under an EU deal; the privatisation of state companies; raising the retirement age; and putting a fence on the border with Belarus.
What next?
"The election is a toss-up," said The Economist. PiS, polling at 36%, is "poised to take the largest share of the vote" – but to form a government it will need the support of others. But if KO does well, it could "forge a ruling coalition instead". Tusk's alliance is polling at about 30% and would "probably work with the Left and the Third Way, a centrist newcomer".
But in such a close race "turnout will be a deciding factor". Given their ages – Tusk is 66 and Kaczyński 74 – a new generation of voters "is tired of their duelling". The far-right Confederation party, polling at 9%, "could hold the balance of power".
The Confederation has "sought to harness a rise in anti-Ukrainian sentiment among some voters", said Reuters. A PiS government relying on Confederation votes "could be much less inclined to help Kyiv".
The anti-European Confederation "sways into territory far more extreme than anything seen in UK politics", said The New European – yet. But to the suggestion that PiS may take Poland out of the EU, "the disaster of Brexit means there is no support for Polexit".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
By The Week UK Published
-
Who are the markets backing in the US election?
Talking Point Speculators are piling in on the Trump trade. A Harris victory would come as a surprise
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 3, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Putin's fixation with shamans
Under the Radar Secretive Russian leader, said to be fascinated with occult and pagan rituals, allegedly asked for blessing over nuclear weapons
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 February - 1 March
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will mounting discontent affect Iran election?
Today's Big Question Low turnout is expected in poll seen as crucial test for Tehran's leadership
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Sweden clears final NATO hurdle with Hungary vote
Speed Read Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly approved Sweden's accession to NATO
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published