Worried about the future of democracy and the economic crisis linked to the pandemic, the Poles began to vote on Sunday in the first round of a tight presidential race ... Outgoing President Andrzej Duda, 48, is running for his second term in office. this key vote for his conservative nationalist government.
Ten other candidates are in the running to replace him, but according to polls, it is the liberal mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, of the main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), who will be the rival of Andrzej Duda during of the second round, on July 12.
Trump gave his blessing to Duda
The victory of Trzaskowski, also 48, would be a major blow to the government of the Law and Justice Party (PiS), which was behind a series of controversial reforms, notably in the justice sector.
According to the PiS, these changes were necessary to eliminate corruption among judges. But European partners have criticized these reforms by the Polish populist government, claiming that they are eroding democracy, just three decades after the fall of communism.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who views the PiS administration as a key European ally, gave his blessing to Duda this week. The Polish head of state's visit to the White House was the first by a foreign leader to the United States since the start of the pandemic, just four days before election day.
A poll marked by the pandemic
The ballot was strongly marked by the coronavirus crisis, which forced the authorities to postpone it from May to June. A new hybrid postal and conventional voting system has also been implemented to prevent new infections.
Official data suggest more than 33,000 cases of contamination and more than 1,400 deaths, but the Minister of Health has admitted that there may be up to 1.6 million undetected cases in Poland, a country of 38 million 'inhabitants.
Anti-gay rhetoric
Andrzej Duda promised the Poles to defend a whole series of benefits launched by the ruling party, including family allowances and upgraded pensions.
The Poles also fear a first recession since the end of communism, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Duda played the anti-gay rhetoric to seduce far-right voters, analysts said.
By campaigning under the slogan "We have had enough", the main rival of the outgoing president, Rafal Trzaskowski, has promised to repair ties with Brussels. Since taking power in 2015, Duda and PiS have turned Polish politics upside down by stoking tensions with the EU.
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