Jaroslaw Kaczynski at rally, Sunday; photo - PAP/Andrzej Hrechorowicz
“Do not waste your votes on various small formations, as you will only be voting for Tusk-Palikot,” Kaczynski said, Sunday, referring to a late swing of support in the polls to the newly formed party based around Janusz Palikot, a liberal defector from the more christian-democrat Civic Platform last year, and an arch-enemy of the socially conservative Law and Justice.
In a poll taken at the weekend for Polish Radio, the Palikot Movement was on 9 percent support – signalling the possibility that Civic Platform, if the largest party in parliament next Sunday, could form a coalition with the liberal-left Janusz Palikot.
In the same poll, however, by Homo Homini, Law and Justice had narrowed the gap behind Civic Platform to just one percent.
When journalists asked PM Donald Tusk, campaigning in Krakow, about the possibility of a Civic Platform-Palikot coalition, he said he was only thinking about an all-out win for his party.
“Effective government is not a government made up of many parties and many different ideas,” he said.
“I am not thinking about coalitions, I am doing everything to win.”
Fragmented vote
Opinion polls are finding levels of support - which must be five percent or over under Poland's election rules - for five different parties to enter parliament.
This gives numerous possibilities for coalitions to be formed, and lessening the likelihood that one party will gain a majority in parliament – a result never achieved in elections since the fall of communism in Poland.
With six days to go before the ballot, a poll-of-polls conflating results of four different opinion pollsters finds Civic Platform (PO) on 34 percent, Law and Justice (PiS) on 29 percent, Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) 8 percent, Palikot Movement (RP) 7 percent and Polish Peasants Party (PSL) 6 percent.
Poland Comes First (PJN) - a break-away party of self-styled 'moderate' former Law and Justice members – is on 3 percent in the poll-of-polls: a three percent of the vote Jaroslaw Kaczynski will be hoping to win back, as Poland's race for parliament enters its final lap. (pg)
Source: IAR/PAP/gazeta/pl