People in Poland came from all over the country to take part in patriotic marches in Warsaw on Sunday, led by two candidates vying for the presidency in a second round of elections on June 1. The vote is expected to be both tense and critical to the future of the nation.
One of the marches is led by Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a liberal urban activist who champions abortion rights and LGBTQ+ causes. He is a close political ally of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and has received the backing of Mr Tusk’s pro-European Civic Coalition, which has run a centrist government since late 2023.
Mr Trzaskowski had previously sought the presidency in 2020, but lost narrowly to incumbent President Andrzej Duda; his term ends this summer.
His rival is Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the national-conservative Law and Justice party, which ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023. He heads the state-run Institute of National Remembrance, which has become a promoter of nationalist historical narratives for the Law and Justice party.
The White House recently released photographs of Mr. Navrotsky meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, a silent but clear show of support from Trump.
Mr Nawrocki was accused this month of defrauding an elderly man's flat, but supporters who gathered in Warsaw on Sunday cast doubt on the claims.
Many of the marchers on Sunday came from across Poland, a country of nearly 38 million people, not only to support their candidate but also to unite around sharply differing visions for the country's future.
“The time for honesty is now. The time for fairness is now. The time for justice is now,” Mr. Trzaskowski told supporters at the start of his march. “That’s what this election is about. We literally have days left. We have to be determined; every vote counts.”
The second round of voting follows a first round on May 18 that narrowed the field of candidates from 13 to Mr Trzaskowski and Mr Nawrocki. Recent polls show them neck and neck, within the margin of statistical error, making the outcome difficult to predict.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
