Political tsunami after the vote in Poland
By Nigar Orujova
The October 25 presidential elections in Poland ended with the decisive victory of Andrzej Duda, who could push out the ruling Civic Platform after eight years of state power.
The wining Law and Justice Party, which will take the rein in Poland for the next four years, is expected to bring major changes to the country's political course.
Polish society has made a large shift toward conservatism, according to Bartosz Mendyk, a political expert.
“The winning party does not have good relations with Germany or the other EU countries, and the anti-Russian rhetoric will be even stronger than today," he believes.
The expert notes that the winning Law and Justice Party is famous in Europe for its anti-EU rhetoric.
He added that generally, the party opposed strong cooperation with the EU and wanted to pursue a more independent foreign policy. "So, our relationship with the EU might become quite cool,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Mendyk hopes that Polish-Azerbaijani and Polish-Georgian relations will improve and maybe rise to the same level as in the period of 2005-2007.
“President Lech Kaczynski has paid many visits to Azerbaijan and was strongly devoted to the Polish-Azerbaijani friendship,” he added.
“Now, some kind of Renaissance of bilateral cooperation is expected. Hopefully, the Polish-Azerbaijani friendship, which has a long history, will improve and not just on paper,” he stressed.
Highlighting the current actors on the political scene in Poland, Mendyk explained that the Civic Platform had lost the election because of the failure of their reforms.
“Moreover, the Polish economy is in some trouble: Every year, some 40,000 young people decide to emigrate to other EU countries. They and their families do not believe in the success story.”
The Polish Peasant Party is also facing many problems, he noted, pointing out that they had recorded the worst results in more than 100 years of their history as a party.
“The most important fact is that in Poland, until yesterday, the division was visible. The most conservative were the eastern and southern parts of Poland, while the middle and western parts were liberal and social. These divisions were proven in all elections: presidential, parliamentary, and local."
It was the same during the Russian-German annexation of Poland in the 19th century. At that time, the more conservative Law and Justice Party won in the east of the country, and the Civil Platform won in the west. But now, conservatism has won in every part of the country,” he remarked.
Mendyk noted that there was also a newcomer in parliament – the Pawel Kukiz Movement with its charismatic leader, who united nationalists, economic liberals, and even social democrats. "There is another ultra conservative party that enjoys major support, but it is still ill-equipped to enter parliament," he added.