Sunday, October 1, 2023

Two weeks to parliamentary elections in Poland. It's getting hot!

 Two events take place today in Poland. 

One is the opposition rally, "Million Hearts March", initiated by Civic Platform (PO) leader Donald Tusk, which brought thousands to Warsaw. The other is the ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), convention in Katowice, the capital city of the Silesia region. 

The opposition rally made international news, even though it did not gather a million people as promised. Here are some headlines on Google: 

Reuters
Thousands gather in Warsaw for opposition rally ahead of tight election
Tens of thousands of people gathered for an opposition rally in Warsaw on Sunday, two weeks ahead of an election that the liberal Civic...

The Guardian
All eyes in Europe are focused on Poland’s divisive election fight. But it’s not a pretty sight
The bitter struggle to unseat Warsaw's hard-right government foreshadows a wider struggle throughout the EU.

DW
Opposition march in Poland ahead of parliamentary vote
Tens of thousands of peoples attended an opposition rally in Poland's capital, ahead of a vote that could determine its future in the...

The Independent
Polish opposition head Donald Tusk leads march to boost chances to unseat conservatives in election
Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk is leading a march in Warsaw to mobilize supporters and boost the chances of unseating the conservative...


There are no international news reports (media blackout?) from the PiS convention but the pictures on social media suggest that the sports arena in Katowice, with a capacity of 11K, has almost one hundred percent attendance.