Poland publishes final election numbers as results suggest opposition parties could form coalition – Europe live

Ruling Law and Justice party secured most votes but it appears likely Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition will be able to form a government

Speaking to reporters this morning, Polish member of the European parliament Róża Thun said the message to European partners is that Poland is “back.”

Thun, a member of Polska 2050, part of Third Way, said “this was a victory of democracy.”

We need a strong Europe and we want to have a voice in the world - not only in the European Union. So the first thing that our European partners hear today is, we are back. And that’s an extremely important message for us in Poland as well, but also for Europe. We are back. We will not show the back to the European Union anymore. We want to cooperate, we want to reinforce this Europe. And this message is extremely strong, because the victory of democratic forces is very clear.

First thing is of course, rule of law, independence of judiciary, back to Europe, as we call it, that we need to give, again, freedom or render those institutions free from party control and influence, and that’s not only judiciary, but also military, police, public media.

I know my friends in Poland, especially Donald Tusk, very well, and I feel very strongly that Poland with Donald Tusk at the helm of the government will strengthen or boost the centripetal tendencies in the EU, and mitigate the opposite – the centrifugal tones or tendencies. It is crucial, because we know very well that we live in very special times when we face a substantial shift of the global political landscape, so we need to be more united in Europe, in the EU. In this respect, I’m happy, it is a significant step in the right direction.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Mkw0CSz