Duda victory sends shockwaves through Polish politics

Before a sea of waving Polish flags and a boisterous crowd of supporters chanting his name, Andrzej Duda heralded his stunning victory in Poland’s presidential election as a seismic shift in the country’s political arena.

“Those who voted for me, they voted for a change,” he said, after the first national election victory in a decade for the rightwing Law and Justice party. “Today we can change Poland.”

The win for the socially conservative, nationalist, eurosceptic party, which saw Mr Duda oust Bronisław Komorowski, the government-backed incumbent from the presidential palace, represents a significant lurch to the right in Polish politics. It has sent shockwaves through the country’s political establishment that could ultimately topple the ruling party in October after eight years in power.

Backed by both the country’s restless, anti-establishment youth and its conservative pensioners, Mr Duda’s election, which was unthinkable just a few months ago, represents a significant and far-reaching rejection of the ruling Civic Platform party.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b72a065a-02d4-11e5-8333-00144feabdc0.html