Lasting victory for PiS in regional elections?
The PiS won the most votes in regional elections in Poland on Sunday. According to exit polls the ruling party won 32 percent of the vote, gaining five percentage points compared to the last elections four years ago. Commentators explain why PiS leader Kaczyński and his team can't celebrate a complete victory.
Good news for the opposition
The news that early indications point to the PiS not appointing a mayor in any of the major Polish cities has Gazeta Wyborcza in a state of euphoria:
“It seems that the Law and Justice party doesn't stand a chance of taking even a single city. Today the democratic camp, despite all its weaknesses and its disunited leadership, has every reason to rejoice - this is a good start for a victory in the [European and parliamentary] elections next year. It must not be wasted.”
PiS unconvincing in the countryside
Rzeczpospolita also says the PiS can't rest on its laurels after the elections, arguing that the good performance of the Peasants' Party PSL in particular - which garnered 16 percent of the vote - should give it pause for thought:
“It could well be that many of the anti-PiS voters cast their ballots for the PSL, whose result according to the projections looks like a veritable sensation. The PSL's good results show clearly that the PiS has lost the fight for the rural areas even though it pulled out its heaviest guns against the Peasants' Party.”