Polish Elections: One Vote, Two Futures?
On October 15, Jarosław Kaczyński and his party PiS (Law and Justice) will strive to secure an historic third term as the first party to achieve this since the fall of communism in 1989.
A clear victory would enable PiS to solidify the profound impact it has made in Poland during its eight years in power. Falling short of a majority could however force PiS, a socially conservative and fiscally leftist party, into a challenging coalition with the right-wing Konfederacja.
Leading the opposition against PiS is Donald Tusk, former Prime Minister and President of the European Council between 2014-19, whose Civil Coalition party relies on support from The Left and Third Way.
The two sides envision starkly different futures for Poland and its position in the EU. Much is at stake for the Polish economy, civil society, and potentially for Poland’s European neighbors and the EU itself.
On Tuesday October 10 at 16:00-16:45, Piotr Buras, Senior Policy Fellow and head of the Warsaw office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, will guide us through the drama of the elections and discuss the prospect of power shifting to the East within the EU.
