POLAND: Conservatives face a tough challenge from Economic Liberals in Poland's upcoming elections

Record ID: 737980

  • Title: POLAND: Conservatives face a tough challenge from Economic Liberals in Poland's upcoming elections
  • Date: 18th October 2007
  • Summary: (EU) ROSTKI, POLAND (SEPTEMBER 25, 2007) (REUTERS) TRACTOR IN FIELD TRACTOR AND COWS ALINA WYCEH'S FARM PIGS DUCKS (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) FARMER ALINA WYCECH, SAYING: "The best political party for me used to be the League of Polish Families but I also have sympathy for Law and Justice. I see they are doing good things." HORSE AND CART VARIOUS OF FARMER LOADING GRASS INTO CART (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) FARMER, SAYING: "Law and Justice promises good things for the mother and child, for children. And Civic Platform, I don't know what they promise and what they think. It's supposed to change." HORSE AND CART DRIVING DOWN ROAD
  • Embargoed: 2nd November 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Poland
  • Country: Poland
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6H3SH1WPW6CRLAGROEJ0LVWC4
  • Story Text: The Polish countryside seems unaffected by political turmoil ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections, but it is the rural vote which may influence the outcome of these elections with support for the conservative Law and Justice party at high level.
    Many in the Polish countryside are sceptical of the opposition party, Civic Platform which favours faster economic reform and a closer relationship with Europe.
    Alina Wycech, who runs a small family farm 50 km north east of Warsaw, fears that Poland's Catholic values maybe threatened and suspects a corrupt elite is trying to claw back power and distrusts the European Union despite its subsidies for her farm.
    She explained that her vote would therefore favour the more nationalistic right.
    "The best political party for me used to be the League of Polish Families but I also have sympathy for Law and Justice. I see they are doing good things," Wycech said.
    A farmer working in a nearby field echoed the rural support for the Kaczynski twin's Law and Justice party explaining that it was unclear what the centre right challengers' policies are, "Law and Justice promises good things for the mother and child, for children. And Civic Platform, I don't know what they promise and what they think."
    As preparations for the elections go full speed ahead, polls indicate a neck and neck race between the two parties, with the opposition party pulling ahead in polls Wednesday (October 17).
    The turning point in the campaign appears to have been a televised debate between Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Civic Platform leader Donald Tusk last weekend in which the prime minister came off worse.
    Insurgent attacks on Polish forces in Iraq have also drawn attention to the unpopular troop presence there. The pro-U.S. prime minister and his twin brother, Lech, the president, strongly support keeping troops in Iraq.
    Tusk counts on the support of the professionally active middle class, usually living in cities. A strong group of supporters are Polish immigrants who left Poland after the country's accession to the European Union in search of better wages.
    During recent pre-elections held on Tuesday (October 16) in schools and universities across Poland Civic Platform had a stunning seventy percent outcome.
    But students of the Political Sciences faculty on the Warsaw University say that politics does not play a very important role in everyday life and most importantly, does not have a direct influence to the economy in modern day Poland.
    Lukasz Lorentowicz, a student and activist for the Civic Platform's youth organization said: "The most important is for the citizen to be able to live regardless of politics. Although the political parties have politicized the country so much and there is the whole administration, a citizen can still live in autonomy, independent of the political parties."
    His friends may not agree on politics, but Tomasz Piotrowski who supports the Law and Justice party, says there is no way that politicians can resists democracy.
    "What kind of Poland would I like to work in? In a Poland without corruption, this is the biggest hindrance for anything. The rest will definitely settle in some way, because we are in the European Union and some things are inflicted upon us and there are some restrictions we have to keep.
    So there any anti-democratic conduct is out of the question." he said.
    Snap elections have been called in Poland over a month ago due to the collapse of the prime minister's shaky coalition with two fringe parties, the nationalist League of Polish Families and rural leftist Self-Defense.
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