Presidential hopefuls train for war amid security fears

"Let's shoot," said Karol Nawrocki, before a heavy rock soundtrack kicked in and the camera switched to scenes of the presidential candidate backed by Poland's main nationalist opposition party firing a variety of weapons.

- Alan Charlish, Justyna Pawlak, Reuters

The video shared on the historian and amateur boxer's social media accounts was designed to contrast his tough-talking image with that of his more urbane opponent, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski from the liberal ruling Civic Coalition (KO), who had also taken part in voluntary military training. The fact that both Nawrocki, who is backed by Law and Justice (PiS), and Trzaskowski felt compelled to show themselves preparing for a potential armed conflict underscored the importance of security for voters in a country that aims to more than double the size its army to half a million to ward off what it sees as the threat from Russia. Trzaskowski is leading in opinion polls ahead of the presidential election first round on May 18, and is likely to face second-placed Nawrocki in a run-off vote on June 1.