Revealing insights
The Guardian, UK:
Like Germany's voters one week ago, Poles opted for change in parliamentary elections at the weekend - but not too much or too fast. Their wish to have it both ways now looks likely to produce an inexperienced coalition government mired in contradictions, beset by external challenges, and at war with itself.
New York Times, US:
Historically, a shift to the right should come as no great surprise here. Polish voters have swung from one end of the political spectrum to the other in each legislative election since 1991; no party has ever been re-elected. Those swings, and the current campaign's focus on exposing corruption, are essential stages for a maturing democracy.
Izvestia, Russia:
Tusk and Kaczyński are unusually hostile towards Russia. When former President of Poland Wojciech Jaruzelski came to Russia for the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of [World War II] victory, Kaczyński proposed depriving him of his rank of general. Earlier Law and Justice proposed naming one of the squares in Warsaw after Dzhokhar Dudayev. Tusk however said that "Russia doesn't count with Poland," and that "it respects only the strong." In his opinion, in relation to Russia it is necessary to behave "firmly and with dignity."
El Pais, Spain:
Neither of the two parties of the Polish right is typically euro-skeptic, but both show minimal enthusiasm for new steps towards the construction of European entity. The turn to the right will mean Warsaw, which obligated itself to ratifying the Constitution despite France's and Holland's 'no', will now press on the brakes.
Libération, France
A divided left, an almighty right: parliamentary elections in Poland turned the political scene on its head. The left, ruling for the past four years, paid for gangrenous corruption, but also for the inability to offer a real alternative. The right used dissatisfaction, promising to solve the problem of unemployment and to better protect national interests.
The Financial Times, UK:
Poles voted not for liberalization but to get rid of a corrupt administration. They want clean government - and if PiS-PO fails to deliver, they will vote them out too. PiS and PO leaders must never forget that Poland's populists stand waiting in the wings.
