Ukraine’s MP Kniazhytskyi shares remarks on elections in Poland

The legendary Polish dissident and editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza expressed the mood of millions of Poles who took part in the vote en masse. The turnout of over 74% was a record for Poland. Among the age groups, people aged 30 to 50 were particularly active, and they mostly supported the opposition. Among them, the turnout exceeded an incredible 85%!

But the younger generation also took part in the voting en masse, realizing the high stakes of this election. The preservation of Poland's presence in the European Union, the rule of law and democracy itself.  

I felt the mood of these groups of Polish voters on June 4, when I was among half a million Poles who marched peacefully through the streets of Warsaw on the anniversary of the first democratic elections since 1989, as mentioned by Adam Michnik. The march was led by Lech Wałęsa and Donald Tusk, the former Polish Prime Minister and President of the European Council. Today, he is the leader of the Civic Platform and the undisputed candidate to lead the new government, which three opposition parties have already begun to form.  

Half a year later, two weeks before the election, more than one million Poles were walking the streets of the capital. It was clear that the "giant had awakened". That's what Tusk said about Polish society. And the giant really showed its strength.  

The Law and Justice party, which has ruled Poland for 8 years, did not lose the elections to the Sejm, as 35.5% of voters voted for its candidates. The party took first place, ahead of Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition by 4.5% of the vote.

But PiS will lose power, because no other political force wants to form a coalition with a political force led by Jarosław Kaczyński. And the point is not only that PiS has made a lot of enemies during its 8 years in power.

I was watching the election campaign closely. I was sad to see that the way it was conducted by the public media violated all the rules of equal access to the airwaves for different political forces. Preferences were given to the Law and Justice Party. Instead, a black campaign was conducted against the opposition. For example, Donald Tusk was presented as the embodiment of all evil and national betrayal. But it didn't work. Tusk won and will form a new government.

For us in Ukraine, the Polish example should serve as an illustration that the authorities should not violate the principles of access to media monopolized by themselves, such as the "telethon." Such a policy is anti-democratic. And sooner or later, such a policy turns against the government itself.

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About the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, Member of Parliament of Ukraine

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.