Will everything run smoothly, or will we see a Czech-style melt-down, when the country’s Prime Minister, Mirek Topolanek was ousted by a vote of no-confidence in the middle of the country’s presidency?, asks thenews.pl’s John Beauchamp.
The above scenario seems unlikely, but hard-line campaigning by the major opposition parties, notably the conservative Law and Justice and the Democratic Left Alliance, may be a nuisance for the ruling Civic Platform at a time when it will be hoping for another term in power.
Speaking to Polish journalists in Brussels last week, head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso said that the parliamentary elections should not have an effect on Poland’s leadership of the EU Council.
“There’s no need to dramatise the situation,” Barroso said, adding that a number of countries have had elections during their presidencies of the EU Council, although he did add that “my message to the Polish presidency is […] be prepared, because something can happen.”
The election campaigns heating up throughout Poland’s presidency will see two of Poland’s major parties, the ruling Civic Platform and the opposition Law and Justice, battling it out over the strength of Poland’s ability to push the country’s interests in the European arena, says Piotr Kaczynski from the Centre for European Policy Studies.
Piotr Kaczynski from the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Poland
Meanwhile, many political pundits believe the election campaign will come back to the events of April 2010, when the presidential plane crashed in Smolensk, killing all 96 onboard, including Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and many other high-ranking officials.
Editor-in-Chief of the centre-right Rzeczpospolita daily, Pawel Lisicki, thinks that Polish society is divided as to the Smolensk catastrophe.
Pawel Lisicki from Rzeczpospolita on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Poland
Editor at the leftist Krytyka Polityczna, Michal Sutkowski, is not so sure of Lisicki’s claims, however.
Michal Sutkowski from Krytyka Polityczna on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Poland
Whether Smolensk will be a hot topic for debate or not, it is clear that it may divert attention from other issues, both in the social and economic spheres.
As with any election campaign, a certain amount of mud-slinging should be taken as a given. But with the rest of Europe watching, can Poland’s politicians afford not to keep it clean? (pg)