[1/6]Overview of the crowds and the city skyline during the “March of a Million Hearts” (Marsz Miliona Serc) opposition rally, two weeks before the parliamentary elections, in Warsaw, Poland, October 1, 2023. Agencja Wyborcza.pl/Slawomir Kaminski via Portal Acquire license rights
WARSAW, Oct 1 (Portal) – Tens of thousands of people gathered for an opposition rally in Warsaw on Sunday, two weeks before an election that the liberal Civic Platform (PO) said could decide Poland’s future in the European Union and its democratic status.
Opinion polls suggest the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government could win the vote but could struggle to form a majority due to discontent among some over the rising cost of living and concerns about an erosion of the democratic separation of powers.
The opposition hopes Sunday’s march will be the largest in decades and encourage voters to take part in the election.
“Big changes are coming. This is a sign of Poland’s rebirth,” PO chief Donald Tusk told crowds gathered in a central Warsaw square, many waving Polish and EU flags.
Tusk, a former president of the European Council, said PiS could aim to take Poland out of the EU, which the party denies, and described the election as crucial for the rights of minorities and women.
PiS, in power since 2015, campaigned on keeping migrants out of Poland, saying it was crucial for national security, and continuing to channel money to families and the elderly.
“I want to be free, to be in the EU, I want to have a say, I want to have free courts,” said Hanna Chaciewicz, a 59-year-old dentist from Otwock, a town outside Warsaw.
Public broadcaster TVP, which independent media observers say has become the government’s mouthpiece under PiS rule, quoted police as saying that about 100,000 people joined Sunday’s march.
Tusk said nearly a million were in attendance.
Some carried banners reading “PiSexit” or “The cat can stay,” a reference to PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s pet.
PiS disputes Western criticism that it has undermined democratic norms and says its judicial reforms aim to make the country fairer and free of traces of communism, while its public media changes rid it of foreign influence.
But it has not yet gained access to billions of euros in EU COVID recovery funds that Brussels has withheld because of Poland’s court reforms.
“Everyone is investing in jobs and in the fight against the climate catastrophe. And we were denied this money because someone decided to destroy democracy in Poland,” Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski told rally participants.
Reporting by Justyna Pawlak, Marek Strzelecki and Kuba Stezycki; Edited by Hugh Lawson
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