Graphic shows main points of contention between Poland and the EU over the last five years.
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POLITICS

What is at stake in Poland’s elections?

By Jordi Bou

July 12, 2020 - Poland’s presidential election, to be decided in a run-off between incumbent Andrzej Duda and liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, could prove a turning point in troubled relations with the EU.

Andrzej Duda, fell short of the 50% of votes needed to win in the first round, paving the way for what is building into a very tight race in July 12 runoff.

Whether Duda ultimately wins a second five-year term in two weeks’ time will determine whether the ruling nationalist party that backs him, Law and Justice (PiS), keeps its near-monopoly on political power in Poland.

The party has been in conflict with the European Union over laws that have given it control over top courts and key judicial bodies, something the 27-nation bloc has denounced as an erosion of democratic European values.

The pro-EU Trzaskowski has vowed to block any new laws that violate constitutional norms.

An opposition victory on July 12 would be the latest sign that political illiberalism, rightwing nationalism and resistance to EU values, have been losing ground in parts of central and eastern Europe over the past four years.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 30/06/2020; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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