Angry young Poles hold the key to presidential palace in knife-edge election

As Poland returns to the ballot box, voters frustrated with the lack of progressive change are looking elsewhere for leadership, reports Adam Hsakou in Warsaw

- Adam Hsakou

“I am sorry, because you were all expecting more – faster, stronger,” shouts Donald Tusk, eyebrows furrowed, sleeves rolled up, to an enthusiastic crowd of tens of thousands of supporters in the heart of Warsaw.

Apologising for your record in government may not sound like the ideal campaign message, but it has become the last great hope of Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition before presidential elections today.

Tusk became prime minister in December 2023, ending a turbulent period of rule by the rightwing populist Law and Justice (PiS) party. Over eight years, the PiS government weakened Poland’s system of checks and balances, appointing loyalists to run the state broadcaster and independent agencies, politicising the courts and using public funds for electoral gains. PiS also managed to severely strain relations with Brussels, leading the EU to freeze part of its financial support. But the country, deeply embedded in the single market, continued to attract foreign investment and push its “economic miracle”.