Ruling party takes lead in polls

PM Kopacz at Civic Platform local election rally on Saturday in Warsaw: photo - PAP/Radek Pietruszka

The poll by TNS Polska puts the centre-right party, in power since 2007, on 34 percent support with the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) trailing on 28 percent.

Just weeks before local government elections and under a year before a general election, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) is on 8 percent and the junior coalition partner, Polish Peasants Party (PSL) on 6 percent.

The far-right New Right Congress is on five percent.

If vote share is translated into seats in the lower house of parliament (Sejm) then Civic Platform would have 222 MPs to PiS's 171: SLD would have 41 MPs in parliament, PSL 22 and New Right 4.

The survey was taken on 2 October from a representative sample of 1000.

A poll released on Friday by CBOS put Civic Platform in the lead on 28 percent to Law and Justice's 22 percent.

After trailing Law and Justice for around a year, the bounce in support for Civic Platform comes after Ewa Kopacz took over as PM from Donald Tusk, who takes over as president of the European Council in December.

PM Kopacz will be making her first trip abroad later on Monday when she travels to Brussels. (pg)