Poland gives pro-European liberals a big win
But the road back to the rule of law will be long and hard
THE POLLS closed at 9pm on October 15th, but those still queueing were allowed to cast their votes, so at one polling station near Wroclaw balloting continued until almost 3am. A pizzeria delivered 300 free pies to those standing outside. “Better to wait four hours than four years,” a voter there told Gazeta Wyborcza, a newspaper. Many had worried that the vicious campaign would discourage voters from showing up. Instead turnout reached 74%, Poland’s highest rate ever—higher even than in the election in 1989 that brought an end to communism.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Tusk’s triumph”
Europe October 21st 2023
- Poland gives pro-European liberals a big win
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- Alexei Navalny’s lawyers are arrested
- Marine Le Pen poses a greater threat than Giorgia Meloni
- Paris and Berlin compromise on reform of the electricity market
- The EU’s response to the crisis in Israel exposes its limits
From the October 21st 2023 edition
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