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Polish Farmers' Union Leader Surprisingly on Joint Opposition Candidate List

Iede de VriesIede de Vries
Polish liberal opposition leader Donald Tusk has presented his candidate list for the upcoming parliamentary elections on October 15. On the list of his pro-European Civic Alliance are also Agrounia farmers' union leader Michail Kolodziejczak, the former national ombudsman, several switched parliament members, and regional personalities.

Agrounia originally planned to participate in the elections with a candidate list from their own political party. However, in April a portion of the supporters joined the regrouping of two center-right parties. That combination focuses almost entirely on rural areas. In opinion polls, Agrounia then stalled at a maximum of one and a half percent, well below the Polish electoral threshold of five percent. 

Despite this cooperation with the new Polish parties combination KO, Kolodziejczak said he would not become a member of a new party and that the farmers' union will remain independent. He pointed to the importance of uniting the city and countryside, stated that Poland is currently in a crisis, and that extraordinary solutions are needed. He said he wants to free Poland from the PiS potentates.

Polish President Morawiecki immediately reacted to the announcement and labeled Kolodziejczak a “Putin buddy.” This statement underlines the political tensions and rivalry currently characterizing the Polish political landscape, with the ruling PiS and the new opposition coalition standing firmly against each other. In opinion polls, the difference is only a few percentage points.

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Tusk, who has expressed his ambition to defeat the 15-year governing Law and Justice Party (PiS) with an opposition alliance, surprised many by also calling the radical farmers' union leader to the stage during the presentation.  With the shift of Agrounia and other prominent figures, Tusk hopes to create a broad electoral base. 

With less than two months remaining until the parliamentary elections, the political arena in Poland will undoubtedly heat up further. The struggle between the established power of PiS and the emerging opposition coalition will dominate the political debate in the coming weeks and determine the country's direction for the coming years.

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This article was written and published by Iede de Vries. The translation was generated automatically from the original Dutch version.

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