The campaign to elect Poland's next president is heating up, even though there are still nine months to go until the election is scheduled to take place in May next year.
In theory, this position does not have much power. However, the President has the ability to stop many things that the Government wants to do.
And that's what's happening between current Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government: Preventing the eight-month-old government from delivering on most of its election promises.
With Mr Duda ending his second five-year term and unable to seek re-election, the Polish presidential election – scheduled for May 18 at the latest – has become a “must-win” race for both the ruling coalition led by Mr Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO) party and the opposition.
President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, December 2023. Photo: EU News
“The stakes are very high,” said Wojciech Szacki, head of political analysis at Polityka Insight, a Polish research group.
"For the ruling coalition, which is constrained by President Duda, winning the presidential election means they are able to deliver on the promises made during last year's legislative election campaign," noted Jacek Kucharczyk, head of the Warsaw-based Institute of Public Affairs research group.
While the Polish presidential election is important for the incumbent government's program, the vote is also important for the survival of the opposition Law and Justice Party (PiS).
The Polish presidential election also affects Warsaw's international position, especially in relations with the European Union (EU).
Although the European Commission (EC) has released most of the frozen funds to Poland, Prime Minister Tusk has been unable to implement far-reaching institutional reforms to the judicial system partly due to President Duda's opposition.
The first round of the Polish presidential election is expected to take place in May next year. If no candidate wins an absolute majority (more than 50% of the votes), a second round with the top two candidates in the first round will take place two weeks later.
The likely candidate from Prime Minister Tusk's centrist PO party is Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski. Mr Trzaskowski, 52, ran for president in 2020 and was defeated by Mr Duda.
On August 23, Mr. Tusk will hold a rally with Mr. Trzaskowski, helping to kick off the campaign season. But Mr. Tusk said he had no intention of entering the race.
"I have no intention of running for office. The coming years are a very serious fight. I feel competent and comfortable in my current position," the current Polish prime minister said last week.
Other parties are also considering candidates and preparing their campaigns. It is not yet known who PiS will choose. High-profile figures who could become the party's candidates include: Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and former Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.
Asked whether Mr Morawiecki was a potential PiS candidate, the party's leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, said in June that the party would choose someone "who has a real chance of winning".
The presidential election is crucial for PiS, as President Duda is one of the party's few remaining pillars of political power. Losing the Polish presidency to another party's candidate, combined with Mr Kaczyński's age, could see PiS fall apart in the next five years.
Minh Duc (According to Politico EU)
Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/chien-dich-bau-cu-tong-thong-ba-lan-da-bat-dau-du-ngay-bo-phieu-con-xa-204240823105518783.htm
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