Coud the election bring a change of government in Poland?
Polish voters will elect a new parliament on Sunday and face the choice between a broad opposition alliance and the PiS party, which has been in power since 2015. The alliance led by former EU Council President Donald Tusk is considered to have a good chance of replacing the current cabinet. The press looks at what is at stake in this election.
Every vote counts
Hospodářské noviny reports on the tense atmosphere in the run-up to this critical election:
“According to the polls, the current government and the opposition have equal chances of winning - meaning that every vote and every parliamentary mandate is at stake. At the same time, the results will decide on the future path for Poland. In other words, whether the conservatives of the incumbent PiS party, with the support of smaller nationalist parties, will turn Poland into a second eurosceptic and authoritarian Hungary. Or whether the opposition will be able to form a pro-European coalition which will transform Poland into a powerful actor within the EU and Nato.”
Fire and water
Poles live in opposing parallel worlds, according to Tygodnik Powszechny:
“We have long passed the point of mere incongruity. The polarisation that we are seeing here in Poland is more extreme than anywhere else in the world. We have become used to living in at least two realities, as diametrically opposed as fire and water. What is a considered a virtue in one reality is a disgrace in the other; an act of heroism in the one reality is treachery in the other; what is a faux pas for one is an example of fine manners for the other; what is considered a failure by one of them is seen as a success by the other, what is beautiful to the one is hideous and disgusting to the other. And vice versa.”
Poland could lurch further to the right
Observator Cultural is concerned about what the election might bring:
“What is deeply worrying is that if PiS wins, it would have to form a ruling coalition with Konfederacja (KON) - a nationalist party which has even more extreme views on the EU than PiS. A party with neo-Nazi origins, that is antisemitic, anti LGBTQ+ and anti-immigration. ... All of this is set against the background that Brussels wants to resolve the situation of thousands of migrants and believes they should be distributed equally across the EU member states. ... A position that above all Hungary and Poland oppose, and on which a governing coalition of PiS and KON would adopt an irreconcilable stance.”
A grim celebration of democracy
Undecided voters will be the determining factor, writes Rzeczpospolita:
“The last opinion poll in this election campaign indicates that the opposition will be the winner: a victory that is uncertain but possible. It will depend on those who wait until the last minute to vote in this grim celebration of democracy. This election campaign has been uniquely grim: never before have so many negative emotions been stoked nor so many people convinced that Poland is dramatically divided.”
Only one good choice for women
In hvg, Gazeta Wyborcza journalist Dominika Wantuch explains why women in Poland should vote for the opposition parties:
“We have to choose: either we continue to fight for women's rights and equal opportunities or we don't take part in the elections in the awareness that everything could get even worse. Our rights could be further restricted. Not only might we lose our reproductive rights, but equal opportunities in the education system could also be dismantled. This situation could even destroy women's rights organisations. And if the independence of Polish courts is abolished, there will no longer be a forum for us to defend ourselves.”
A key moment for the EU
Europe will be anxiously watching Poland, writes The Irish Times:
“The election will have ramifications across Europe. A PiS victory would be an important boost for populism and Euroscepticism ahead of next year's European Parliament elections. A defeat for PiS can contribute positively to a rebalancing within the EU, weakening the powerfully destabilising role of Hungary's Viktor Orban, recently strengthened by the victory of Roberto Fico in Slovakia and earlier by Giorgia Meloni in Italy.”
Neither free nor fair
Aftonbladet raises concerns about what might happen if the PiS suffers a defeat:
“If 'Law and Justice' [PiS] win, they will continue to dismantle democracy and oppose the EU. But what if they lose? The Supreme Court must confirm the election results, and it is the president who gives the mandate to form the government. PiS now controls both, so we don't know what will happen if they lose the election. ... The election is neither free nor fair. In practice, state media is campaigning for 'Law and Justice' and against the opposition, and the other state institutions are doing the same. But how far are they willing to go to remain in power?”
Opposition would face major challenges after a victory
Pravda suspects that even under a new government, a democratic new beginning would be no easy task:
“Because for one thing PiS member Andrzej Duda will remain in the presidential office. He has the power to block laws, and the government will have a hard time finding a three-fifths majority to override his veto. The president doesn't need to seek compromises with the new government. His second term doesn't end until 2025, and even if he were to start looking for a new career, as long as PiS is a strong party capable of winning the parliamentary elections, he won't not need to look for new allies.”