There Is Hope.

A country that was going way right just saw the light and elected a moderate.
Poland's Opposition Leader Declares Win

Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk declared a win after exit poll shows ruling conservatives lose majority.
HuffPost
By Monika Scislowska and Vanessa Gera
October 15, 2023

Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk declared the beginning of a new era for his country after opposition parties appeared to have won enough votes in Sunday’s parliamentary election to oust the governing nationalist conservative party.

That party, Law and Justice, has bickered with allies and faced accusations of eroding rule of law at home in its eight years in power. It appeared that voters were mobilized like never before, voting in even greater numbers than when the nation ousted the communist authorities in 1989. In some places people were still in line when polling officially closed, but all were allowed to vote.

If the result predicted by an exit poll holds, Law and Justice won but also lost. It got more seats than any other party but not enough to be able to lead a government that can pass laws in the legislature.

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“This result might still be better, but already today we can say this is the end of the bad time, this is end of Law and Justice rule,” Tusk added.

Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski acknowledged the ambiguous result. He told supporters at his headquarters that his party’s result, at nearly 37% of the vote, according to the exit poll, was a success, making it the party to win the most votes for three parliamentary elections in a row.

I don’t know but it seems like to me that those who lived under authoritarianism like not having to think and having everything told to them. All the former Soviet Block nations are leaning toward dictatorships.

It seems like it is an never ending battle to keep the far right spread of fascism.

Many who struggled against Poland’s communist system feel they are fighting for democracy once again
AP News
By Vanessa Gera
October 13, 2023

Dariusz Stola began working with Poland’s anti-communist Solidarity movement in 1983. He was just 19 but already appalled by the way the regime imposed its harsh censorship, not just on political thought but culture as well.

A member of his church choir would give him a stack of 200 opposition newspapers with uncensored texts on culture and history for distribution to locations where flowers in windows or other signs signaled that it was safe.

Now a historian specializing in the communist era, he sees strong parallels with the current populist government, particularly the way it spreads “systematic lies” and propaganda against its political opponents, using taxpayer-funded public media.

“I have déjà vu,” Stola said in an interview from his home in Warsaw. “I recognize the patterns which I remember from communist Poland.”

Funny how the right-wingers like lying. It seems to be in their blood after all they are the ones who created the “Fake News.” channel.

Centrist Parties Poised to Oust Poland’s Nationalist Government
The election, seen as one of the most significant in decades, was cast as a choice between the defense of Polish sovereignty and liberal values.
The New York Times
By Andrew Higgins
October 15, 2023


Centrist and progressive forces appeared capable of forming a new government in Poland after securing more seats in a critical general election on Sunday, despite the governing nationalist party, Law and Justice, winning the most votes for a single party.

Exit polls showing a strong second place finish by the main opposition group, Civic Coalition, and better than expected results for two smaller centrist and progressive parties suggested a dramatic upset that would frustrate the governing party’s hope of an unprecedented third consecutive term.

A jubilant Donald Tusk, Civic Coalition’s leader, declared the projected results a resounding “win for democracy” that would end the tenure of Law and Justice, known by its Polish acronym PiS, in power since 2015.

“We did it! We really did!” Mr. Tusk, a former prime minister, told supporters Sunday night. “This is the end of this bad time! This is the end of PiS rule!”

The election for a new Parliament, held after a vicious campaign in the highly polarized nation, was closely watched abroad, including in Russia and Ukraine, and viewed by many Poles as the most consequential vote since they rejected communism in the country’s first partly free election in 1989. Reflecting the high stakes, nearly 73 percent of the electorate voted, the highest turnout in a Polish election since the end of communist rule.

Have you noticed another consecutive trait? “Moms for Liberty”, “Alliance Defending Freedom,” and “Law and Justice” it is like it is right out of the novel “1984” doublespeak!

If early forecasts turn out to be correct when final official results are announced, probably on Tuesday, Civic Coalition and its potential partners won 248 seats in the 460-member legislature, compared with 200 won by Law and Justice.

 Does this sound familiar?

“It was awful, so brutal,” said Ewa Zabowska, a retired Health Ministry official, after casting her vote for the opposition at a Warsaw primary school. “It went on for too long. Nonstop lies for months.”

What Ms. Zabowska viewed as lies, however, fans of Law and Justice accepted as alarming truths. “Tusk is an emissary of Germany — he will do exactly what Germany dictates,” Antoni Zdziaborski, a retired Warsaw tram driver, said after voting for the governing party.

Hum... It sound just like the rhetoric coming out of Trump's MAGA followers!

The HuffPost article ends with…

Despite many uncertainties ahead, what appeared certain was that support for the governing party has shrunk since the last election in 2019 when it won nearly 44% of the vote, its popularity dented by high inflation, allegations of cronyism and bickering with European allies.

Let us hope that the trend to the middle continues and it is not just a flash in the pan.

 

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Thanks to Stana for the heads-up on the Polish elections.