The opposition has been talking about the chance for a common government after the elections for a long time, but it has never said “we” as convincingly as it does now. In the final stretch of the election campaign, Donald Tusk refers to concepts such as community, cooperation, and reconciliation. The leaders of the Third Way and the New Left also follow him.
The authorities sought polarization at all costs – they focused on the eternal war between PiS and the Civic Platform and the eternal enemy – Donald Tusk. However, in the final stretch of the campaign, the PO leader ignores attacks from Kaczyński’s party and changes his language. Since Sunday’s Million Hearts March, Donald Tusk has been referring to concepts such as community, cooperation, and reconciliation. “You” is replaced by “we”. – People say “let’s win”, not “win”, he emphasized during the march.
The leader of the Platform therefore wants to take away Kaczyński’s weapon of polarization, the monopoly on patriotism, and even perversely, the monopoly on the love for cats. What Tusk needs today, as he says, is a victory, even a small one, of the Civic Coalition against PiS.
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If Third Way or the Left did not enter the Sejm, PiS could benefit. – The choice is simple: either the Third Way or the third term of PiS – points out Szymon Hołownia, leader of Poland 2050 and co-founder of the Third Way.
Donald Tusk does not encourage Civic Coalition voters to vote for someone else. He only encourages voters of other parties to vote for their own, not to succumb to the pressure that their vote will be wasted. – I make a passionate appeal to all Third Way voters: vote for yours, don’t hesitate for a moment – argues the PO leader. – The point is that such a person should not stay at home. In this way, the platform achieves the main goal of its campaign: mobilizing undecided people – explains Prof. Andrzej Rychard, sociologist from the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Donald Tusk adopted a cat in Podkarpacie. He named him “Rudy”TVN24
“We attack together because it is about the same goal”
The latest statements by Jarosław Kaczyński show that the cooperation of the opposition has worried PiS. The game to push the Third Way to the electoral threshold is clear, but – according to the opposition – ineffective.
Just like Tusk, the political doyen of the Left encourages us not to calculate, but to vote. – All of you who loved Hołownia, vote for Hołownia – argues former president Aleksander Kwaśniewski. The strategy may seem surprising, because after all, the purpose of a campaign is to compete with each other. – Looking for an enemy is not the opposition’s policy at the moment. We want to show that a different policy is possible – assures Włodzimierz Czarzasty, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm, MP of the New Left.
The Third Way already declared cooperation in its coalition agreement. – Our goal is to create a common government – said then Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, president of the Polish People’s Party and co-founder of the Third Way. The non-aggression pact is still in force today. – We attack together because it is about the same goal – assures Hołownia.
Therefore, since there is no single opposition list, there is a common strategy. – Showing that cooperation is important to politicians, that the common interest is more important to them than the interests of individual parties – says Prof. Richard.
The Million Hearts March passed through the streets of WarsawTVN24
Voters also received a clear signal at the march from representatives of the Left and the Civic Coalition. Szymon Hołownia and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz also expressed their support during the Third Way tour. – This march changed the dynamics of the entire campaign because it showed that we are positive, that we are smiling – emphasizes Rafał Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw.
In Przemyśl, Donald Tusk began by thanking the residents who were the first to help Ukrainian refugees, thus referring to the idea of solidarity that has already built the Polish community.
Main photo source: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz