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Tusk may fail to appeal to a wider Polish electorate

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Significance

Given his background and high media profile, the former premier and European Council president could emerge as the leading figure in Poland’s divided opposition. Opponents of the government hope he will help Civic Platform (PO) regain power from the ruling right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Impacts

  • Tusk’s return is likely to exacerbate further already-strained tensions between Warsaw and the EU political establishment.
  • PiS will intensify its claims that Tusk is too accommodating towards Berlin, which could also further complicate Polish-German relations.
  • Tusk could find himself in conflict with attempts to shift PO’s stance further to the left on moral-cultural issues such as abortion.

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