An expected liberal coalition would probably reverse deeply conservative policies at home and diminish Poland’s role abroad as a beacon for right-wing groups.
A comprehensive look at the current political situation in Poland.
It boiled down to a choice between two different visions of the future: one dominated by nationalism, traditional Catholic norms and the defense of Polish sovereignty; the other by promises to “bring Poland back to Europe” and the liberal democratic values espoused by the European Union.
For Slawomir Debski, director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, a state-funded body, the election campaign, dominated by insults and promises of quick fixes, showed that populism is not a monopoly held by one side and is unlikely to go away.
A final tally of votes released on Tuesday by the electoral commission gave Civic Coalition, and two smaller groups also opposed to the Law and Justice party — Third Way and New Left — 248 seats in the 460-member Sejm, the more powerful lower house of Parliament.
The opposition also won a large majority of seats in the 100-member Senate, the upper house, but its victory in both chambers of Poland’s Parliament, though a big symbolic boost for supporters of liberal democracy and European integration, will be crimped by its having to work with a Polish president loyal to Law and Justice.
With Parliament and the presidency held by rival camps, Poland could face a protracted period of political stalemate, a risk heightened by the fact Law and Justice loyalists are deeply entrenched in the judiciary, the national prosecutor’s office and many other state bodies and will be difficult to dislodge without recourse to legally dubious methods.
A large majority of Poles, according to opinion polls, want to stay in the European Union, a sign that not only urban liberals support the bloc but so, too, do many conservative rural voters who are aligned with Law and Justice on cultural issues but reluctant to lose billions of dollars in funding from Brussels.
The original article contains 1,437 words, the summary contains 300 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
It boiled down to a choice between two different visions of the future: one dominated by nationalism, traditional Catholic norms and the defense of Polish sovereignty; the other by promises to “bring Poland back to Europe” and the liberal democratic values espoused by the European Union.
For Slawomir Debski, director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, a state-funded body, the election campaign, dominated by insults and promises of quick fixes, showed that populism is not a monopoly held by one side and is unlikely to go away.
A final tally of votes released on Tuesday by the electoral commission gave Civic Coalition, and two smaller groups also opposed to the Law and Justice party — Third Way and New Left — 248 seats in the 460-member Sejm, the more powerful lower house of Parliament.
The opposition also won a large majority of seats in the 100-member Senate, the upper house, but its victory in both chambers of Poland’s Parliament, though a big symbolic boost for supporters of liberal democracy and European integration, will be crimped by its having to work with a Polish president loyal to Law and Justice.
With Parliament and the presidency held by rival camps, Poland could face a protracted period of political stalemate, a risk heightened by the fact Law and Justice loyalists are deeply entrenched in the judiciary, the national prosecutor’s office and many other state bodies and will be difficult to dislodge without recourse to legally dubious methods.
A large majority of Poles, according to opinion polls, want to stay in the European Union, a sign that not only urban liberals support the bloc but so, too, do many conservative rural voters who are aligned with Law and Justice on cultural issues but reluctant to lose billions of dollars in funding from Brussels.
The original article contains 1,437 words, the summary contains 300 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!