UPDATE 1 - Six out of ten viewers of the primary election debate between for Civic Platform’s presidential candidate, Sunday, thought the winner was Bronislaw Komorowski.

The poll, by SMG / KRC fFound that 60 percent thought Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski performed best in the 50 minute debate.

The survey was taken as the debate progressed, with Komorowski, Speaker of Parliament, maintaining his advantage thought.

Fifty seven percent thought that the primary election, to be voted on by Civic Platform’s 46,000 members by March 27, would not create splits within the party. Twenty nine percent thought that conflict has been created, however.

The respondents were also asked who they would vote for in the presidential election if held on March 21 - 47 percent said they would vote for the Civic Platform candidate, 21 percent for Law and Justice’s candidate, eight percent SLD and seven percent PSL. Turnout would be 58 percent.

The opinion poll was taken via telephone from a sample of 1011.

’40 percent? Not bad!

Addressing a press conference in Gdansk last night, Mr Sikorski stressed, however, that his popularity ratings have improved over the past few weeks.

“As a long-standing member of the Civic Platform, Bronislaw Komorowski was considered a favourite right from the start,” he said, adding that “in view of the fact that I was given no more than a 20-percent chance at the beginning of the primaries, 40 percent is not a bad result.’

According to most Polish analysts, the debate did not take up some of the key issues such as the health care reform or the financing of public media, but was nevertheless a success for the Civic Platform party.

Thanks to the primary election within the party and the Komorowski-Sikorski TV debate, Civic Platform has captured media attention for many weeks, whereas the other presidential candidates, including the incumbent president Lech Kaczyński, have been virtually absent in the public debate. (pg/mk)