Conservative Kaczynski Concedes Defeat in Polish Election

[Robbien]

Source: Voice of America

Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski is conceding defeat as exit polls give a pro-business party a large lead over his ruling nationalists in Sunday's parliamentary elections. The poll gives the Civic Platform Party a 15-percentage point lead, putting party leader Donald Tusk in line to be the next prime minister.

Mr. Kaczynski promised his Law and Order Party will be a strong opposition during the next government.

Civic Platform is a center-right party which has pushed for lower taxes on businesses, a smaller bureaucracy and closer integration into the European economic system. Tusk has said he will seek to withdraw Polish forces from Iraq.

Sunday's election brings to an end two years of conservative rule by Prime Minister Kaczynski and his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski. They pushed hard for a stronger Polish voice in the European Union, alienating some EU allies. They also opposed various EU regulations, including those on the environment.

Read more: http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-10-21-voa24.cfm

[LeftishBrit]

1. Wow! That's good news...

and we needed it, after the shock of what's been happening in Switzerland.

'Center-right' may not be the ideal; but it sounds a LOT better than what they've been having for the last two years.

[Kagemusha]

2. Note the Iraq angle. One less Coalition of the Willing member.

I'm sure that had an impact on the voting...

[Ian David]

7. Yeah, but we still have Awimboway. n/t

[tabasco]

9. They were already leaving.

There's only 900 Poles left in Iraq IIRC, and they're leaving in the Spring.

[Drunken Irishman]

5. Poland has always been a pretty conservative nation.

As are many of those Eastern Europe countries. The fact they're moving from far-right, to center right, is a good sign!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. wonder if the new gov will shut down Bush's version of disneyland.

you know, that torture & rendition center about the center, eastern border of Poland. Poland has an unused highway that has about 2.5 k of 8 lanes of concrete. If you drove on it, you thought, gee, what a modern road in the middle of nowhere. Actually, a hidden landing strip for military planes. or in this case rendition planes.

[Robbien]

4. Another article says this new guy thought Poland

wasn't bargaining hard enough when dealing with the US on defense matters. He plans on getting a better deal for the missile defense program or say no deal.

With his capitalistic bent, the new PM will probably allow just about anything if it would make a buck for Poland.

The new guy is better than the old guy, but the old guy was pretty bad so saying the new guy is better isn't really saying much.

[Ian David]

6. Did the Law and Order party narrowly beat the CSI Party? n/t

[Blue_Tires]

17. well played, sir!

[IndianaGreen]

8. The Kaczynskis were also militant homophobes and anti-abortion rights

They shall not be missed!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

14. what's with the past tense? They will still be in government,

just not with a minority.

I know of plenty of Poles who are running from their neoconservatism and hiding out in the US. That man and his party ARE a menace.

[rodeodance]

10. "and pull troops from Iraq."

..........Poland's Kaczynskis lose election
Sun Oct 21, 2007 7:50pm EDT

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USL1622600520071021

By Gabriela Baczynska and Katarzyna Pieniadz

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's conservative Kaczynski twins were beaten in a parliamentary election on Sunday by a centre-right opposition party ready to mend relations with EU allies, speed economic reforms and pull troops from Iraq.

The Civic Platform's victory over the ruling Law and Justice party, with the biggest turnout since the fall of communism nearly two decades ago, appeared to be a rejection of two years of turbulent rule by the nationalist twins.

Exit polls showed the Civic Platform won around 44 percent of the vote. Law and Justice had just over 30 percent.

Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski conceded defeat. His brother Lech, the president, does not face an election until 2010 but opposition parties together looked set to get enough seats to trump his power to veto legislation............

[alfredo]

11. Sounds like they went from Paleo to neo conservative.

[izquierdista]

12. "Center-right" is not neo-conservative

Funny, last election, Tusk's party got described as "center-left". He lost that one mysteriously as his slim lead in the opinion polls a few days before the presidential election mysteriously evaporated and Kaczynski got in. There are at least half a dozen parties in Poland, and the only major party to the left of the PO is the SLD (or as they have taken to calling themselves, the LiD). The real nut-cases hang out in the LPR party (League of Polish Families), who sound a lot like the family-values, Christian Coalition groups in the US. Fortunately, the LPR polls only in the 5% range and only has support in the rural backwaters.
Tusk appears to be reasonable and level-headed, unlike the Kaczynskis*, who once canceled a gay pride march in Warsaw. He was debating with the former president on TV last week and calmly, methodically laid out his positions, without resorting to emotion, invective, or fear mongering. He is unlikely to be confrontational, leaving that to prima donnas like Andrzej Lepper and his Self-defense party.
I think the Poles regret the election two years ago, and this is their way of correcting that oversight until the next presidential election in 2010.

*Don't call me on lumping the two Kaczynskis together, they are like peas in a pod, or more accurately, like Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

[alfredo]

13. It was the pro business that made me wonder if they are neo cons.

I used to know about Polish politics because I have a friend who was part of one of the leftist parties. He's been too busy with married life, a job, and MS to be involved in party politics. He hated the twins. I haven't heard from him for months and I lost his e-mail address.

[izquierdista]

15. Business in Poland

Pro-business in Poland means you are for new high rises going up, new commercial centers, closer co-operation with Western European manufacturers, more residential housing being built, and improving infrastructure to keep up with it. It has little to do with helping your cronies get no bid contracts and send troops off on foreign military adventures.

[alfredo]

18. OK, not so bad then.

[Doctor_J]

16. Conservative in Europe = Biden/Clinton here

the US GOP is off the map in Europe. The only other countries any where near as right wing as the US are Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and, in there own way, China.

[eppur_se_muova]

19. You know what's sure to happen when Bu**sh** is introduced ...

"Pleased to meet you, Mister, uh, Tusk" *giggle* *smirk* *splutter*

[eridani]

20. Our US Kaczynski is more famous n/t

[Vidar]

21. Sounds good to me.