Close presidential run-off in Poland
Print Edition
Poles voted for a president yesterday in a run-off that is too close to call but has already sounded a warning for the ruling Civic Platform as it looks to re-election later in the year.
Originally seen as a shoo-in for a second five-year term, incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski finds himself neck and neck with his conservative challenger, Andrzej Duda, who defied opinion polls to come out on top in the May 10 first round.
Victory for 43-year-old Duda would mark the first major electoral win in almost a decade for the opposition Law and Justice party, and provide a springboard to challenge for government in the autumn.
But the race alone has turned Duda, former legal aide and member of the European parliament, into a national political player and shaken the ruling Civic Platform.
Eight years in power, the center-right Civic Platform has presided over rapid economic growth and rising salaries in eastern Europe’s biggest economy.
But despite unprecedented prosperity, many Poles feel the fruits of their labor have been unfairly spread, resulting in increased inequality, and are eager for new faces at the top.
“Economic growth? For the average citizen it is hardly perceptible,” said Zbigniew Pela, 53, a railway worker who voted for Duda yesterday. “They create good living conditions for some social groups, who have their businesses, and not for ordinary citizens.”
Komorowski, 62, has been criticized for running a lackluster campaign, jumping to life only after his loss in the first round. Since then, he has shown more energy and two opinion polls on Friday had the contenders practically level.
Piotr Matys, emerging markets strategist at Rabobank, said: “Even if Duda fails to dethrone President Komorowski, I think that the Civic Platform may not stay at the helm after the general election due later this year.”
Some people said yesterday they were voting for Komorowski because they felt he was a safe pair of hands on national security. Poland is worried it could become the Kremlin’s next target after Russia’s intervention in Ukraine.
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