The
first projections seem to show that Andrzej Duda has been re-elected as President
of Poland. It is a very thin victory, something just over 50% of the votes.
Duda has been the country’s President since 2015. His re-election, after a
brutal campaign he led against his main opponent and tonnes of support by the
official media – and from President Trump –, is not good news for the rest of
the European Union. He represents a retrograde policy option and a government
that has not respected the basic European values, including the independence of
the judiciary. Domestically, his extremely narrow victory, if it is confirmed,
reveals that half of the Poles do not believe in the basic demagoguery he
propagates. That is a remarkable proportion of the population – people that
were not convinced by extreme populism and nationalism of his Law
and Justice party (PiS). Those voters tell us, in other parts of Europe, that
hope is not lost as far as Poland is concerned. But Europe must have a much
firmer policy towards the backward politicians that are still in power in the
country.
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