Dzień dobry. “It is the end of evil times,” Donald Tusk, the former prime minister of Poland and leader of the country’s main opposition party, declared as polls indicated a clear majority for a centre-left coalition in what has been billed as Poland’s most important general election since the fall of communism in 1989. “We did it, for real. Poland won, democracy won.”
Well, technically, Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO) party didn’t win. But it doesn’t matter, as the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party and its potential rightwing partner do not appear to have won enough votes to extend nine years in power.
“I have been a politician for many years. I’m an athlete. Never in my life have I been so happy about taking seemingly second place. It’s the end of the evil times, it’s the end of the PiS rule. We made it,” Tusk told jubilant supporters at a victory party in Warsaw’s ethnography museum. “This day will be remembered in history as a bright day, the rebirth of Poland.”
After the headlines we’ll take a deep dive into Poland’s fractious politics, and what the result means for the people of Poland and the country’s place in the world. Our guide is the Guardian’s central and eastern Europe correspondent Shaun Walker, who was at Tusk’s party and has been taking the temperature on the streets of Warsaw.
Five big stories
Brussels shooting| Brussels is on its highest level of security alert after two Swedes were shot dead in the centre of the city by a gunman who federal prosecutors said claimed to be inspired by Islamic State.
Israel-Hamas war | President Joe Biden will travel to Israel for talks with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday as concerns grow that the Israel-Hamas war could spiral into a regional conflict.
Conservatives | The Conservative MP Peter Bone repeatedly hit and verbally abused a member of his staff, often asked him for massages and on one occasion put his bare genitals in the other man’s face, according to a report by a House of Commons regulator.
UK news | Counter-terrorism police are leading an investigation into the suspected murder of a man and the assault of another after an incident in Hartlepool in the early hours of Sunday.
Economy | The Bank of England has more “work to do” to ensure inflation is brought back under control, the chief economist Huw Pill has said. Raising the possibility of an increase in borrowing costs from the Bank, Pill said the fact that the headline measure of the cost of living was falling was not enough to claim victory.
In depth: ‘For a long time, Poland has been the problem child for the European Union’
Tusk, 66, and PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, 74, were once on the same side. In 1989 they were both…
2023-10-17 00:45:02
Article from www.theguardian.com
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