Politicians try to make the best out of a low turnout in Poland – one of smallest in the EU - which strengthened the position of larger parties.
Civic Platform – which won 25 of the 50 seats up for grabs on Sunday – managed to get their key politicians into the European Parliament. Danuta Hubner, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy and Civic Platform’s number one on the list in Warsaw, gained support of more than 300,000 voters.
And though the turnout was four percent higher than in 2004, only one in four took part in the vote – which one of the lowest in the 27 nation bloc. Prime Minister Donald Tusk (right), the leader of Civic Platform, claimed yesterday evening that any turnout higher than 25% will be reason for “moderate satisfaction”.
Just under 25 percent of voters eventually turned out in Poland.
On average just over 43 percent voted in the elections throughout the EU, with Malta having the highest participation at 79 percent.
But just 19 percent of Slovaks and 20 percent of Lithuanians joined Poland at the bottom of the turnout league.
The main opposition party, the conservative Law and Justice came in second with 27 percent of the popular vote, claiming that, “These were not easy elections,” despite being in opposition and Poland suffering the worst economic conditions since the early 1990s.
The party’s leader, former prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski thanked voters and congratulated the winners. He hoped that Law and Justice’s slogan, ‘More for Poland’, will be adopted by Civic Platform, which takes its place among the largest group in the European Parliament, the European People’s Party. Kaczynski said after exit poll results were published after polling stations closed at 10 pm last night, that ‘More for Poland’ means that the country should be treated on equal terms in the EU.
“Poland still does not have the same rights in the EU and Poles are not equal as EU citizens, and we have to resolve that,” Kaczynski said.
Beyond two right wing parties, the coalition of two left wing parties, Democratic Left Alliance and the Labour Union (SLD-UP) gained around 12 percent, nationwide. SLD leader, Grzegorz Napieralski, said that the result was a honour and a challenge for both parties. He added that SLD-UP support showed that a “new, open left” can be a political alternative in Poland.
Junior coalition partner, the Polish Peasant’s Party leader, Deputy PM Waldemar Pawlak, seemed to be quite happy with the seven percent they received from the electorate.
“It is a signal for all the people how diversity and pluralism is important in our country. Poles have shown clearly that we need coalition and variety,” Pawlak said.
The low turnout his the smaller parties, badly. Among them was the Polish branch of the pan-European Libertas. The party, which was trying to attract a euroscpetic constituency with anti-bureaucracy and anti-Lisbon Treaty slogans gained just over one percent of votes.
“We respect that every man is the architect of his own fortune,“ said Libertas candidate Artur Zawisza. (jg/pg)