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Polish liberals will now have to find another candidate to face incumbent President Andrzej Duda.
With our correspondent in Warsaw, Damien Simonart
Donald Tusk will not be the next Polish head of state. The current President of the European Council announced on Tuesday that he will not run for the presidency of his country next May.
His decision was eagerly awaited in Warsaw, both by his side and by his conservative opponents currently in power. He was to announce it on 2 December, at the end of his term at the European Council. It was finally a month in advance that Donald Tusk decided on his future. " After careful consideration, I decided not to run for the next presidential election. I am announcing this decision today because time is running out and I would not want to make it harder for the opposition to choose a candidate, "he said.
" You need a candidate who does not have a bag of difficult and unpopular decisions "
Considered by many to be the most dangerous candidate for current Polish President Andrzej Duda, Donald Tusk has long been the number one target of the Nationalist Law and Justice Party (PiS) . The broad victory of the latter in recent legislative elections has been a brake on the candidacy of the President of the European Council. " I think we can win this election, but for that we need a candidate who does not have a bag of difficult and unpopular decisions. I have such a background since the time I was Prime Minister, "he justified.
Donald Tusk refers to increasing the retirement age to 67, reforming the health insurance system, or privatizing public companies with foreign capital. His non-candidacy for 2020 leaves a huge void for the Liberals who will have to find a new leader before the end of the year.