BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Polish Culture Who should be the next president of Poland?

There are just two choices:

Donald Tusk - pro-European and liberal in economy, common sense, media-savvy, young-looking

Lech Kaczynski - pro-American, bit nationalistic, religious, against corruption, president of city of Warsaw

My candidate for president of Poland single choice
	Lech Kaczynski
	Donald Tusk
	somebody else, please explain
Votes accepted starting: 09/29/05 12:00 PM
View Results

I saw the parts of the debate with Tomasz Lis. This debate was quite polite among both candidates.

Here are the pictures - Tusk is seen only partly, Kaczynski on the left:

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here is Tusk, probably 10 years ago:


and his bio, he is a kashub:


Donald Tusk, born 22 April 1957 in Gdańsk, is a Polish politician, co-founder and now chairman of the moderately conservative Citizens Platform (Platforma Obywatelska). He is also one of several vice-speaker of the Sejm, the lower house of Polish parliament. Prior to co-founding the Citizens' Platform in 2001, he was a prominent member of the Liberal Democratic Congress (Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny) and the Freedom Union (Unia Wolności). He quit the Freedom Union after he failed to win the party's chairmanship in a race against Bronisław Geremek.

Tusks's political position combines strong support of a free market economy without government interference, with social conservatism.

As of 2004, as a Sejm member, Tusk represents the constituency of Gdynia-Słupsk. In 2005, the Citizens' Platform nominated him for that year's presidential election.

Both parents of Donald Tusk were citizens of Free City of Danzig and his greatparents were persecuted during WW2 as members of Polish minority.

Married with two children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Tusk

Here is information about Lech Kaczynski



As children the twin brothers Lech and Jarosław starred in a popular Polish 1962 movie "About a pair who stole the moon" (Polish title: "O dw�ch takich, co ukradli księżyc") based on a children's book by Kornel Makuszyński. As a result they both gained a certain measure of celebrity which helped them in later political career.

In the 1970s Lech Kaczyński was an activist of democratic anti-communist movement in Poland, and in August 1980 he became an adviser to the Strike Committee in Gdańsk Shipyard and the Solidarity movement. During the martial law introduced by the communists in December 1981 he was interned as an anti-socialist element.

When the Solidarity movement was legalized again in the late 1980s Lech Kaczyński was an active adviser of Lech Wałęsa and his Citizens Committee Solidarity (Komitet Obywatelski Solidarność;) in 1988, was elected Member of Parliament in June 1989, and vice-chairman of Solidarity trade union (NSZZ Solidarność). He was a leader and founder of a centrist political party: Porozumienie Centrum (Center Agreement) and the main adviser and supporter of Lech Wałęsa when he was elected the President of Poland in December 1990. Wałęsa nominated Kaczyński to be the Security Minister in the Presidential Chancellery.

Lech Kaczyński was the President of the Supreme Chamber of Control (Naczelna Izba Kontroli, NIK) from February 1992-May 1995 and later the Minister of Justice and Attorney General in Jerzy Buzek's government (June 2000-July 2001).

In 2001 he was the founder of Prawo i Sprawiedliwość party, and since 2002 he is the president (mayor) of Warsaw, capital city of Poland. As president he managed, among other things, to support building the Museum of Warsaw Uprising and ban a gay parade (twice).

On 19 March 2005, he formally declared his readiness to start in the upcoming presidential elections and is the leader in all opinion polls.

read more in:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lech_Kaczy%C5%84ski

Any other opinions? It seems that for now everybody agree on one candidate <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I voted "Donald Tusk". IMO the best choice available. BTW - my personal opinion is that voting (in reality <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> is the first duty of a citizen.

Hello

Donald Tusk is the only considerable choice for a reasonable man (or woman :-)). Kaczynski was good as a Minister of justice, but he doesn't have that "something" that make a good candidate for president.

BTW Did anyone noticed that Kaczynski is trying to make Tusk look bad and not promoting himself, while Tusk is promoting himself, and not fighting Kaczynski in Kaczynski's way.

This make me sure that my choice to vote on Tusk is right.

Yanc

Guys,

I agree, but my friend in Texas said that all of her Polish friends are voting for Kaczynski.... he was supported by radio Maryja
<img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I saw the parts of the second presidential debate on TVN24. Now - you see even we in Idaho can have idea about Polish politics!

I am a Tusk supporter but... he was less presidential than Kaczynski. He did not smile and he was more confrontational and upset. In some moments he looked really upset. He should calm down rather...

There was a discussion among some journalists later - they were suggesting that the confrontation and anger ... should be left to the presidential commitees. Aparently Kaczynski's committee is more confrontational than Tusk's but in the debate it looked the other way.

I cannot vote in the election and I cannot tell the citizens of Poland how they should vote. It is up to the citizens of that country to select their own leader. All I can do is give my best wishes and hope that they select the leader that is best for them. Best wishes, a prayer and hopes for a good outcome.