14 Picking the President


iF recent opinion polls are correct, Bronisław Komorowski will become President of Poland within the next few weeks. as acting President and a member of the


ruling Civic Platform (Po), he appears to be well in ahead of his leading rival, Jarosław Kaczyński from the law and Justice Party (PiS). a poll in the daily newspaper Polska at


the beginning of June put Komorowski on 56 percent with Kaczyński on 29. no other candidate scored higher than 6 per cent. the first round of voting takes place on


Sunday June 20 and if no candidate gains an outright majority on the first ballot, a second run-off ballot will take place two weeks later. Before the Smolensk air crash, the then


president, lech Kaczyński, was trailing in the polls, but his twin brother appears to have benefited from a sympathy vote from the public in the wake of the disaster, although transcripts from the black box recorder on the tragic flight


may work against the Justice and law candidate if it is shown that the president played a part in overturning air traffic control advice not to attempt a landing in the Smolensk fog. although both parties are centre-right,


the Po is regarded as to the left of PiS, whose supporters include the right wing radio Maryja radio station, which is nationalistic and openly hostile to Jews. Komorowski and Kaczyński are joined on


the ballot paper by eight other candidates: former Prime Minister and current Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak of the Polish People’s Party; former Deputy Prime Minister andrej lepper; Marek Jurek, a former Master of the Sejm; former Sejm member Janusz Korwin- Mikke; founder and leader of Fighting Solidarity Kornel Morawiecki; Democratic left alliance Party leader and Sejm member Grzegorz napieralski; Former Minister of Foreign affairs andrzej olechowski and Polish labour Party leader Bogusław Ziętek.


Jarosław Kaczyńs


Who would you like to see as next President of Poland?


l WE carried out a straw poll among a group of readers on their preferred candidate for the next President of Poland. The question was not restricted to the


candidates who are actually standing for election, allowing readers the freedom to nominate the person they think would be most suited out of all the country’s politicians for the post. Bronisław Komorowski came top – with no


support at all for Jarosław Kaczyński among our sample. There are no women standing for the election, but one did feature in the responses – and Komorowski’s party colleague Radek Sikorski made a few surprise appearances. Click on the thumbnails to read the responses.


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