Poland Centrists Win Second Term

Posted October 10th, 2011 at 5:00 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Center-right Polish leader Donald Tusk has become the first prime minister since the fall of Soviet communism 22 years ago to win a second consecutive term in Poland.

With 93 percent of ballots counted, Mr. Tusk said his Civic Platform Party had 39 percent of the votes in Sunday's election. Its nearest rival, Jaroslaw Kaczynski's conservative Law and Justice party, trailed with 30 percent.

As in his first term, Mr. Tusk will have to seek out a coalition partner to form a government, similar to the one forged with the Peasants' Party in 2007. He said talks will begin immediately.

Poland is the only member of the 27-member European Union to emerge from the global recession of 2008 with positive economic growth.