Jaroslaw Kaczynski has guided Poland's conservative ruling party to capture the biggest electoral share for any party in 30 years of democracy in Poland — yet the man who has dreamed of power since childhood is still a bit disappointed.
Kaczynski's focus on social benefits and his stress on patriotic values won Law and Justice party a historic 44% of the vote in Sunday's parliamentary election, giving it 235 of 460 seats in the lower house of parliament. The seats did not increase from the 2015 election despite an improvement over the party's 38% outcome then.
The party will keep its working majority to pass laws, but falls far short of the large majority that Kaczynski had wanted to enable him to change the constitution and reshape Poland to fit his vision of a strong modern state rooted in conservative Catholic traditions.
The ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski leaves polling station after his vote in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. Poles are voting Sunday in a parliamentary election that Kaczynski is favored to win easily, buoyed by the popularity of its social conservatism and generous social spending policies that have reduced poverty. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)
On election night he could barely hide his disappointment, saying the party "deserved more."
Furthermore, his ruling party lost its majority in the Senate, giving the opposition the power to slow down Law and Justice's passage of laws and to influence appointments to important state bodies.
It is a bittersweet victory for a man who is widely considered the most powerful politician in the country — "almost absolute monarch" as one commentator called him Monday on news portal Onet.
The ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski leaves polling station after his vote in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. Poles are voting Sunday in a parliamentary election that Kaczynski is favored to win easily, buoyed by the popularity of its social conservatism and generous social spending policies that have reduced poverty. (AP PhotoDarko Bandic)
That is also because it was probably his last.
The 70-year-old has recently said he plans to retire from politics before the next parliamentary election in 2023. While he campaigned tirelessly, traveling the country and meeting with voters, his age and bad knees mean he doesn't have forever to put his mark on Poland. He faces surgery on both his knees soon.
Yet for now, there is no question that he remains the most influential powerbroker in the nation, even though he has no formal position in government and is just a lawmaker in the lower house of parliament, a seat he was reelected to Sunday.
During the campaign, he was the party's driving force, far overshadowing Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at rallies.
Over the past four years, he hand-picked the Cabinet and is the architect of government policies, though he clearly has to negotiate with different factions in his conservative group behind closed doors.
To his supporters, the lifelong bachelor looms as a benevolent father figure who has helped them in their daily struggles with generous social benefits.
Critics, however, blame Kaczynski for eroding democratic norms, an ironic twist for a man who was active in Poland's pro-democracy Solidarity movement in the 1980s.
Since taking power in 2015, Law and Justice has overhauled Poland's justice system in a way that has eroded judicial independence. It has seized control of state media and turned it into a party propaganda tool with little regard for the standards of objective journalism.
The party ran this time on promises to complete its judicial reforms and to establish a body to regulate journalists, policies that could prolong the country's standoff with the European Union.
Kaczynski served as aide to then-President Lech Walesa in the early 1990s but soon fell out with him. His critics accuse him of trying to rewrite history to play down Walesa's role in creating Poland's democracy — for which Walesa won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 — and put his late brother, a deputy to Walesa, in the spotlight.
Walesa, in turn, is one of Kaczynski's most outspoken critics today, frequently accusing him of destroying Poland's democracy and standing in Europe.
Kaczynski served briefly as prime minister from 2006-2007 in a chaotic, short-lived government while his identical twin brother Lech Kaczynski was president. He says he does not want to repeat the experience.
"The job of the party leader is totally sufficient. I have dreamed of it since I was young," he told the Super Express tabloid.
In 2010, his life was forever changed by tragedy. His brother, the president, was killed in a plane crash in Russia along with 95 other Poles, many of them top state and military officials, as they traveled to commemorate a massacre of Poles by the Soviet Union during World War II.
At the time, the twin's mother was hospitalized and Jaroslaw stayed behind to tend to her. After Lech's death, he kept the news from her for months. To this day, he only appears in public in black and attends monthly memorial services for his brother and the other victims.
His clear attachment to his family and Catholic traditions are part of his appeal to many Poles. So is his love of all things Polish — including traditional foods like dumplings and stewed sauerkraut. He also seeks out Polish destinations for his holidays.
Long before their political careers, the Kaczynski twins had captured the eye of the public as film stars who played urchins in a children's movie "The Two who Stole the Moon."
Even at that time, Kaczynski dreamed of power.
"When I played in the movie I was 12," Kaczynski told Super Express newspaper, "and I already wanted to rule, for a very long time."
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron warned Thursday that Europe could “die” if it fails to build its own robust defense as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on, or if it fails to undertake major trade and economic reforms to compete with China and the U.S.
Macron urged Europeans to become more ambitious in a fast-changing world to face the challenges of war, fierce trade competition, energy scarcity, climate change and increasing authoritarianism.
In a nearly two-hour speech at Sorbonne University in Paris, Macron said that the continent is divided and “too slow and lacks ambition” at a time when the 27-member European Union needs to become a superpower, defend its own borders and speak with one voice if it wants to survive and thrive.
“Our Europe today is mortal,” Macron said. “It can die and that depends solely on our choices,” he added. He called on people to make those choices now because, “it’s today that Europe is between war and peace.”
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, is an existential threat and Europe isn't armed enough to defend itself when “confronted by a power like Russia that has no inhibitions, no limits,” Macron said.
‘Our ability to ensure our security is at stake," Macron said. “Russia mustn’t be allowed to win.”
Europe now has the “good fortune” of having the Biden administration’s commitment to supporting Ukraine, Macron said. But, in a year of key elections around Europe, in the U.S. and elsewhere, support may fragment or disappear entirely, he added.
“Europe must become capable of defending its interests, with its allies by our side whenever they are willing, and alone if necessary,” Macron said.
Strong armies, a European rapid intervention program and force, tanks, a missile shield and other weapons, produced in Europe, will need the support of “a joint diplomatic force that will speak with one voice and build bridges with Africa and Latin America,” the French leader said.
“Only then will Europe show that it's not a United States’ lap dog, and that it also knows how to talk to other regions of the world,” he said.
France has been a firm supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, and Macron has often clashed with other Western leaders as he has insisted that Europe must stand by the country at any cost. The French president alarmed European leaders by saying recently that sending Western troops into Ukraine to shore up its defenses shouldn’t be ruled out.
Referring to trade practices of China and the U.S., Macron said “the two world powers have decided not to respect the rules of global trade” by shoring up protections and subsides while Europe’s industry remains open and is stuck in overregulation.
“Let’s do the same, we are in competition,” Macron said.
“We must buy faster, we must produce more and we must buy more that is made in Europe. That is key,” Macron said.
Thursday's speech came less than two months before a pivotal European Parliament election.
Macron, an avid advocate of a united and assertive Europe, also rallied support for his centrist Renaissance party before the June 6-9 vote as far-right parties lead the moderate coalitions in the polls. He called for safeguarding democratic values as the “authoritarian model” was becoming “more popular” across the continent.
The war in Ukraine and immigration are top priorities for European Union voters, according to polls. Far-right parties have gained support by criticizing Macron’s government policies on both issues. Macron acknowledged divisions on immigration policies, including on asylum and deportation rules for those who have arrived to Europe illegally.
He emphasized the need for an effective response and Europe-wide coordination for curbing illegal immigration, closer cooperation with immigrants' countries of origin and a unified, relentless fight against human traffickers.
Macron criticized the idea of striking an agreement, as Britain as done, with countries in Africa and elsewhere to transfer immigrants there.
“This is a betrayal of our values that ultimately leads us to dependency on other counties,” Macron said.
The British government earlier this week approved a law allowing the deportation of some migrants who enter the country illegally to Rwanda.
Macron lost his majority in France’s most influential house of parliament, the National Assembly, after the 2022 election to the far-left coalition and the far-right National Rally party.
The social situation in France remains tense as Paris prepares to host the Olympic Games this summer, amid protests from teachers and police officers, and farmer demonstrations in recent weeks. The protests follow huge rallies last year against Macron’s ultimately successful proposal to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Barbara Surk reported from Nice, France. Lorne Cook contributed to this report from Brussels.
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to deliver a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, Thursday, April 25 in Paris. 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will outline his vision for Europe as a more assertive global power at the backdrop of war in Ukraine, security, and economic challenges in a speech ahead of pivotal election for the European Parliament in June. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, April 18, 2024. European Union leaders on Wednesday debated a new "European Competitiveness Deal" aimed at helping the 27-nation bloc close the gap with Chinese and American rivals amid fears the region's industries will otherwise be left behind for good. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
