Rival marches draw thousands in Warsaw ahead of presidential vote

WARSAW - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Warsaw on May 25 to show support for candidates vying to win next week’s tightly contested presidential election in Poland that the government views as crucial to its efforts for democratic reform.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk hopes to galvanise support for his candidate, liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, to replace the outgoing Andrzej Duda, a nationalist who has vetoed many of Mr Tusk’s efforts to reform the judiciary.

“All of Poland is looking at us. All of Europe is looking at us. The whole world is looking at us,” Mr Trzaskowski told supporters who waved red and white Polish flags and EU flags.

Mr Tusk swept into power in 2023 with a broad alliance of leftist and centrist parties, on a promise to undo changes made by the nationalist Law and Justice government that the EU said had undermined democracy and women’s and minority rights.

But Mr Trzaskowski is struggling to secure a lead in opinion polls, after beating nationalist Karol Nawrocki by 2 percentage points in the first round of the election on May 18.

Mr Nawrocki’s voters, some wearing hats saying “Poland is the most important”, gathered in a different part of the capital on May 25 to show support for his drive to align Poland more closely with US President Donald Trump’s policies.

“He is the best candidate, the most patriotic, one who can guarantee that Poland is independent and sovereign,” said Mr Jan Sulanowski, 42.

At Mr Trzaskowski’s march, newly elected Romanian President Nicusor Dan pledged to work closely with Mr Tusk and Mr Trzaskowski “to ensure Poland and the European Union remain strong”.

Mr Dan’s unexpected

victory in a vote on May 18

over a hard-right Trump supporter was greeted with relief in Brussels and other parts of Europe, as many were concerned that his rival George Simion would have complicated the EU’s efforts to tackle Russia’s war in Ukraine. REUTERS