“EWe waited exactly ten years for first place on the podium. I am happy. We have the right to be happy and excited”, declared Tusk, after the release of the first projections, which attribute 38.2% of the votes to his Civic Platform (PO).
This is the first victory of this pro-European liberal force in a decade dominated by the ultra-conservative nationalists of Law and Justice (PiS), who, despite having won the last legislative elections, on October 15, did not achieve a parliamentary majority in the face of a post-European coalition. opposition electoral campaign, led by Tusk.
The former president of the European Council maintained today that, although voters expected more results from his government and from “visible times”, these “beautiful months” have not been wasted since October 15, a date on which “Poles showed how important it is democracy.”
For the current head of the Government, who, since coming to power, began a path of rapprochement with Brussels, after major differences between the community executive and the previous PiS government, today’s PO victory has “a broader dimension” than than the one that dictated the change in legislation.
“We confirmed that democracy, honesty and altruism are important. We showed that we are a light of hope for Europe. We have competent and honest MEPs, not those who wanted to escape justice,” said Tusk.
According to the first projections released in Poland at 21:00 local time (20:00 in Lisbon), the PO obtains 38.2%, electing 21 MEPs, while PiS reaches 33.9% and 19 mandates.
A long way from the two main Polish political forces is the Confederation (far-right), with 11.9% and six MEPs.
The Third Way Christian Democrats follow closely behind, reaching 8.2% and four mandates, and the Left reaches just 6.6% and three representatives.
In total, these two parties and Tusk’s PO, which form the coalition in government, total 53% and 28 mandates, a result higher than the sum of 45.8% and 25 elected by the opposition PiS and the Confederation.
No other party surpassed the 5% eligibility threshold.
The high abstention rate of 61% ended up benefiting the pro-European parties, as many voters in rural regions, traditionally loyal to conservative and Eurosceptic forces, did not go to vote.
These European elections mark a reversal of trends in the last ten years in Poland, in which PiS, led by historic leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, appears for the first time as a defeated party.
The PiS leader acknowledged his disappointment with the results, but indicated hope of improving them in the next challenges, starting with the presidential elections next year.
“We know what to do to increase this result. Let’s unite and there is no doubt that the path to victory in the most important elections, first the presidential and then the parliamentary ones, is open,” he declared.
The electoral campaign was entirely dominated by the issue of military, economic and energy security, the importance of which is recognized by 95% of Poles, according to polls, and by the entire political class of Poland, a member country of NATO and the EU, neighboring Russia. and who is among Kiev’s strongest supporters.
Poland will preside over the EU in the first half of 2025, succeeding Hungary.
In total, around 361 million voters from the 27 EU countries were called to choose the composition of the next European Parliament, electing 720 MEPs, 15 more than in the previous legislature. Portugal has 21 seats in the hemicycle.
Read Also: Prime Minister’s pro-European coalition at the helm in Poland
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2577712/europeias-tusk-reclama-vitoria-que-e-uma-luz-de-esperanca-para-europa
