The punch line? The left won.
"Opposition leading first vote in Poland; Exit polls predict president to face rival in runoff" by Monika Scislowska Associated Press May 10, 2015
WARSAW — An exit poll predicted that nationalist opposition candidate Andrzej Duda will win the most votes in the first round of Poland’s presidential election Sunday and will face incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski in a May 24 runoff.
Duda, a skeptic of the European Union, is expected to capture 34.8 percent of the vote to Komorowski’s 32.2 percent, according to the IPSOS poll published by the private TVN24 and the state-run PAP news agency.
The surprise outcome suggested a rising dissatisfaction with the ruling pro-EU establishment led by the center-right and pro-business Civic Platform party, which has been in power since 2007.
You know, that is absolutely so out there and flying in the face of the British flag just rubbed in our face it must be a joke, that being the vote count must have been somewhat legitimate.
What isn't funny is the last guy that thought that in Poland was killed in a strange plane crash.
That dissatisfaction was also seen in the unexpectedly high support — 20.3 percent of the vote — predicted for punk rock star Pawel Kukiz, a candidate who is critical of the government.
We have seen this in a number of elections, be they left $ociali$t (Greece, France) or rightward (last week in England). People are voting against the e$tabli$ment all over.
The vote was a test for Poland’s two major political forces, represented by Komorowski and Duda, ahead of the country’s parliamentary election in the fall. Duda’s Law and Justice party fuses national pride, Catholic values, and socialist welfare promises and is more conservative than the current government.
So it is an even more "right" wing than the current regime (with all the appropriate buzz words)?
Komorowski, who has served since 2010 and made harmony his trademark, called for a debate with Duda and vowed to urgently present new reforms.
He's scared.
‘‘The result of the exit poll is a serious warning for the entire team in power,’’ Komorowski said. ‘‘We should listen to the voters, because it’s evidently necessary to mobilize all rational forces in Poland.’’
When I first started this I believed so much in the voice of the people. Made sure Democrats weren't robbed in 2006, and we were gonna end Bush's wars! Instead we got a surge and a real bummer to follow along with more wars.
He appealed for energy and cooperation with the ‘‘large group of voters evidently disillusioned and waiting for fast, much faster change and modernization.’’
A beaming Duda appealed to voters for more support in the presidential runoff.
‘‘We want to have a dignified life in a safe Poland, which needs to be mended in many areas,’’ Duda said. ‘‘Today this primarily means a change at the presidential office.’’
This must REALLY FLY at odds with the Polish position via Ukraine, and is not all that stunning. Poles rejected the NATO missile shield a while back. Doesn't always work out, either.
‘‘We will win,’’ he said.
The exit poll predicted that no candidate would win more than 50 percent of the votes needed to avoid a runoff and put turnout at 49.4 percent of Poland’s more than 30.2 million voters.
Official results could be announced late Monday, the State Electoral Commission said.
Most power in Poland is with the prime minister and the Parliament. The president has many ceremonial duties but is also the commander of the armed forces and has the power to propose and veto legislation.
And I was getting all worked up.
Whoever wins the five-year presidential term will appoint two members of the central bank’s rate-setting panel in the first quarter of next year and its governor in June 2016.
During the campaign, Komorowski promised steady stewardship of the country at a time of increased security threats stemming from Russia amid the secessionist war in neighboring Ukraine. Duda put the spotlight on economic issues.
Poland is the European Union’s largest eastern economy, and Duda said foreign firms have been transferring $28 billion in cash out of the country each year.
Poland being abandoned by the West again.
In a series of TV campaign commercials early in the race, he also addressed voters’ concerns that future adoption of the euro would make everything from groceries to mortgage payments more expensive.
While Komorowski has pledged to restart a debate on adopting the euro after a new Parliament is elected this fall, he has since said that Poland may have to hold a referendum on the currency switch.
Polish flip-flop!
Analysts said national security issues are likely to be a greater concern to voters in the second round of voting, and Komorowski’s platform should have broader appeal then. Some said the incumbent also suffered in the first round by underestimating the strength of his opponent and failing to campaign aggressively.
Let the RIGGED VOTE be CAST!
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I proud of my Polish brethren even if I have stopped laughing and lost my love for the labor of blogging.
NDU: Conservatives fill David Cameron’s Cabinet
