The PiS party, which has been in power for eight years, has once again won the parliamentary elections in Poland. Nevertheless, the opposition is celebrating: Former Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s citizens’ coalition and two smaller opposition parties together form the majority.
Poland may be facing a change of government: According to forecasts, the national conservatives will remain the strongest political force after the parliamentary election – but three opposition parties could still form the new government. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party received 36.8 percent of the vote, according to post-election surveys by the polling institute Ipsos on Sunday evening. The second strongest force with 31.6 percent was the opposition liberal-conservative Citizens’ Coalition (KO) of former Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The forecasts predicted that PiS would gain 200 seats in the new parliament. The majority is 231 of the 460 mandates. Only the ultra-right Konfederacja is possible as a coalition partner. But according to forecasts, this formation only got 6.2 percent – that would be 12 seats and therefore not enough for a government majority. In addition, the Konfederacja had repeatedly emphasized during the election campaign that it did not want an alliance with the PiS.
Opposition leader Donald Tusk already sees himself as the winner
According to forecasts, the opposition Citizens’ Coalition (KO) would get 163 mandates. It could form a coalition with the Christian-conservative Third Way (13 percent) and the left-wing alliance Lewica (8.6 percent). The three-party alliance would have a total of 248 members and a majority in parliament.
Opposition leader Donald Tusk saw himself as the winner that evening: “I’ve never been so happy about second place. Poland won, democracy won, that’s the end of the PiS government,” he said on election evening. PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said they were waiting to see how events unfolded.
The foreign policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Jürgen Hardt (CDU), said that the election results in Poland show “that we cannot win elections among our neighbors with hostility to Germany and Europe. The people in Poland are among the big winners in the European elections Agreement and don’t let yourself be persuaded otherwise.” The CDU/CSU would like to see “the rapid success of the formation of a new Polish government under Donald Tusk.”
The balance of power in parliament can still shift by nuances of a few percentage points for smaller parties. A lengthy government formation is expected.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated.
Source: Stern
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