Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk is declaring the beginning of a new era after three opposition parties appeared to have won enough votes in Sunday’s election to oust the governing party.
An Ipsos exit poll suggested the opposition, together as a coalition, has likely won 248 seats in the 460-seat lower house of parliament, the Sejm, while Law and Justice appears to have 198 seats.
In order for a government to pass laws, it needs at least 231 seats.
Three opposition parties, Civic Coalition, Third Way and the New Left, ran on separate tickets but with the same promises of seeking to oust Law and Justice and restore good ties with the European Union.
Mr Tusk, a former prime minister and European Council president, told his supporters on Sunday night: “I am the happiest man on earth. Democracy has won. Poland has won.”
He added: “I have been a politician for many years. I’m an athlete. Never in my life have I been so happy about taking seemingly second place. Poland won. Democracy has won. We have removed them from power.
“This result might still be better, but already today we can say this is the end of the bad time, this is the end of Law and Justice rule.”
Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski told supporters his party’s result, at nearly 37% of the vote according to the exit poll, was a success, making it the party to win the most votes for three parliamentary elections in a row.
Votes are still being counted and the state electoral commission says it expects to have final results by Tuesday morning.
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The far-right Confederation has likely won 12 seats, according to the projection.
Image: The leader of Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski
Law and Justice has a devoted base of supporters in the Central European nation of 38 million who appreciate its defence of Catholic traditions and its social spending on pensioners and families with children.
But support for the party has shrunk since the last election in 2019 – when it won nearly 44% of the vote – amid high inflation, allegations of cronyism and bickering with European allies.
Many Poles feel it is the most important election since 1989 when a new democracy was born after decades of communism.
Around 29 million people were eligible to vote with a record 600,000 registered abroad.
Polling in recent days had suggested opposition parties had a chance to deprive the governing populists of an unprecedented third term in a row.
However, if official results confirm the exit poll, Mr Tusk and his allies may have to wait weeks or even months before they get the opportunity to form a government.
As well as the parliamentary election, Poles were also asked to vote on four referendum questions, ranging from the admission of immigrants to raising the retirement age and selling national assets to foreign entities.
Who is Donald Tusk?
The 66-year-old leader of the Civic Coalition was the prime minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014.
In 2011, Mr Tusk became the first leader to be re-elected since the fall of communism in Poland.
He has been involved in politics since the beginning of the 1990s and his name will have become more familiar to people across the continent when he was president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.
He has previously suggested “external anti-European forces” influenced the result of the Brexit referendum – and backed calls for a series of reforms to the EU to protect the election processes of member states.
In his role as president, Mr Tusk was at the centre of the UK’s divisive and long negotiations with the EU on Brexit.
He was also scathing of Britain’s divorce from the European bloc, previously claiming there is a “special place in hell” for some leading Brexiteers.
Mr Tusk returned to Polish politics to breathe new life into his languishing party and win back power.
He looked to reverse what many regarded as a degradation of fundamental rights and ties with European partners under the governing populist party, Law and Justice.
His campaign symbol was a heart in the national colours of white and red to show that “we all have Poland in our hearts.”
Mr Tusk is seen as a charismatic leader who moved his centrist alliance to the left, making a series of promises to appeal to women and younger voters.
Analysis: Change is coming – but it may not be easy
The final results of the Polish election still need to be rubber stamped but if the initial poll is correct, then change is coming.
After eight years in power, the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) is currently projected to win the most votes but fail to secure enough to maintain its majority.
That potentially opens the way for a coalition of centrist and left-wing parties to take control of parliament.
At the head of the largest opposition block, Civic Coalition, is a familiar face. Donald Tusk was Poland’s PM from 2007 to 2014 before a stint as the president of the European Council.
He’s claimed “democracy has won” in reaction to the results predicted in the exit poll.
Certainly, some voters I met at the polls wanted a new start.
Their reasons were mixed. One man told me as a father of daughters, he was worried about the erosion of women’s rights under PiS.
For example, since 2021, access to terminations has been severely restricted.
Others said they wanted to re-strengthen ties with the European Union.
Relations have been strained after the EU raised several concerns over rule of law under PiS including the politicisation of the courts. It’s led to billions of euros of funds being withheld.
There have been other fights, too – over migration, minority rights, grain from Ukraine.
And while change may be coming, it may not be easy.
PiS garnered a huge amount of support with its tough stance on illegal immigration and boost to social spending.
Exit polls suggest a divided country with a split between east and west. Any incoming government would need to repair this rift.
And the race isn’t over. A final tally of votes isn’t expected until Tuesday.
If official results confirm the exit poll, Mr Tusk and his allies from the centre-right Third Way and the New Left may have to wait weeks or even months before getting a turn at forming a government.
President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, has said he would give the first shot to the winning party, suggesting Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki or another party leader would have the chance first.
Europe must “ramp up” pressure on Russia “to bring an end to this barbaric war”, a Downing Street spokesperson said after Sir Keir Starmer chaired a meeting with the Coalition of the Willing.
Earlier, the prime minister met with Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at Downing Street for crisis talks on the future of Ukraine.
After the Downing Street meeting, a spokesperson said Sir Keir “convened a call with other European allies alongside President Zelenskyy”.
“The leaders all agreed that now is a critical moment and that we must continue to ramp up support to Ukraine and economic pressure on Putin to bring an end to this barbaric war.”
Image: Friedrich Merz, Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron at Downing Street. Pic: Reuters
During the earlier meeting, the Downing Street spokesperson said that the leaders “discussed the importance of the US-led peace talks for European security and supported the progress made”.
All four “underscored the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, which includes robust security guarantees,” the spokesperson added.
“The leaders agreed that, while diplomatic efforts continue, Europe must stand with Ukraine, strengthening its ability to defend against relentless attacks that have left thousands without heat or light,” they said.
“They also discussed positive progress made to use immobilised Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
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Mr Zelenskyy arrives at Downing Street
After arriving in the UK, Mr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram that “we are joining our efforts to end this war with a decent peace for Ukraine” and that “security must be guaranteed”.
He later said: “We can’t manage without Americans, we can’t manage without Europe and that is why we need to make some important decisions.”
The discussions come as US President Donald Trump accused Mr Zelenskyy of having failed to read the latest peace plan.
He said he was “a little disappointed” in the Ukrainian leader, while insisting Russia’s Vladimir Putin was “fine with it”.
When asked directly if he believed the US president would walk away from Ukraine, he answered: “I think he may, what’s good about my father and what’s unique about my father is you don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s unpredictable.”
Image: Pic: Reuters
Sir Keir had earlier insisted any ceasefire must be “just” and “lasting”, adding: “We are at a critical stage in the push for peace.
“The principles remain the same. We stand with Ukraine, and if there is to be a ceasefire, it needs to be a just and lasting ceasefire.”
Mr Macron had insisted Ukraine’s allies have “a lot of cards” – but the main issue was to “finalise these peace negotiations” and find the “best possible conditions for Ukraine, for the Europeans, and for collective security”.
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Why the meeting in London is important
Moments after arriving at Downing Street, Mr Merz said he was “sceptical about some of the details in documents coming from the US” but that was one of the reasons for Monday’s talks.
The four European leaders emerged from Downing Street at around 2.20pm for a group photo – but declined to answer any questions from the media.
Sir Keir and Mr Zelenskyy then went back inside the prime minister’s residence for further talks while Mr Macron and Mr Merz departed.
The London meeting comes after Mr Zelenskyy’s officials concluded three days of talks with US diplomats.
Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskyy said he had discussed “next steps” with Mr Trump’s advisers and was “determined to keep working in good faith”.
According to Vatican sources, the Ukrainian president will next meet with Pope Leo at Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence outside of Rome, on Tuesday morning.
The Israeli government has been accused of intimidation, harassment and a “blatant disregard” of its obligations by the United Nations after Israeli officials raided a UN building in Jerusalem.
Police officers, along with officials from the town council, entered the East Jerusalem compound of UNRWA, the UN agency that provides services to Palestinian refugees.
Having gained entry to the compound, the officials filled vehicles with possessions, including office furniture, and raised an Israeli flag in place of the United Nations flag.
They claimed that the building had been raided because UNRWA owed around hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of local taxes.
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However, under the UN charter, UN buildings are exempt from such taxes and are also considered “inviolable”, meaning that, rather than raiding the building, Israelhas an obligation to protect it.
Since its staff were told to leave, there have been attempts to break into the compound, which has been secured by a team of guards employed by the UN.
Sky News has been told that, when the Israeli officials arrived on Monday morning, the security guards were detained in a room within the compound.
“We didn’t let them in when they first came to the compound, but they cut the chains and the locks and took control,” said George, the head of security, who was standing outside the front gate when we arrived.
“They told my guards to stay in one room, took their phones from them, and told them they couldn’t leave.”
‘The false accusations led to this’
UNRWA’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said the raid was “a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect and respect the inviolability of UN premises”.
He said that failing to cooperate with UN agencies “represent a new challenge to international law, one that creates a dangerous precedent anywhere else the UN is present across the world”.
His anger was not isolated. Outside the gates of the UNRWA compound, we met Hakam Shahwam, who used to work here as UNRWA’s chief of staff. It was, he said, “a very sad day”.
Shahwam says the claims that UNRWA was a breeding ground for Hamas had led to the raid.
He told me: “The false accusations led to this. This is a shameful day, not only for the United Nations but also for the government of Israel.
“There must be a strong protest, and a response from the international community. This is unacceptable.”
The Israeli government remains adamant that its criticism of UNRWA is justified.
When I asked Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about the raid, she said: “UNRWA is a stain on the United Nations.”
She added: “It is time for UNRWA to be dismantled. It is not part of the solution for Gaza, it is part of the problem.”
She did not comment on the legality of the raid, or on Israel’s ongoing commitment to the UN Charter.
Greek farmers angered by delayed subsidy payments have shut down the international airport on Crete and clashed with riot police.
Images from local media showed dozens of farmers standing on the apron at Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport in Heraklion, the largest city on Crete.
Image: Pic: Reuters
The airport was forced to suspend all flights, while fights between protesters and riot police broke out in Chania, the Greek island’s second-largest city, where two people were reportedly injured.
Officers used tear gas to disperse protesting farmers who pelted them with rocks and overturned a police patrol car, according to local media.
Image: Pics: AP
The protests were sparked after delays in the payment of European Union-backed agricultural subsidies, which followed a scandal over fraudulent subsidy claims.
Authorities are reviewing all requests for EU farm subsidies, which protesters argue amount to collective punishment and leave farmers in debt and unable to plant their fields for next season.
Meanwhile, Greece’s farming sector has been hit by an outbreak of goat and sheep pox, leading to a mass cull of livestock.
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Farmers have since deployed thousands of tractors and other agricultural vehicles at border crossings and key points along highways across the country, as well as ports and airports.
Michalis Chrisochoidis, Greek minister for public order, said last week that the government remained open to talks with protest leaders, but warned it wouldn’t tolerate the shutdown of major transit points.
It comes after riot police fired tear gas at protesting farmers attempting to block the main access road to the international airport outside the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Friday.
Elsewhere, police have been enforcing traffic diversions in several parts of northern and central Greece, while farmer roadblocks at the country’s northern borders with Bulgaria, Turkey and North Macedonia have hampered truck traffic.
Protests by farmers are common in Greece, and similar blockades in the past have sometimes severed all road traffic between the north and south of the country for weeks.