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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Poland to vote in snap election | Poland to vote in snap election |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| People in Poland have begun voting in a parliamentary election to elect a new government that has been called two years ahead of schedule. | People in Poland have begun voting in a parliamentary election to elect a new government that has been called two years ahead of schedule. |
| The poll was called after the collapse of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's coalition government in a row over an investigation into corruption. | The poll was called after the collapse of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's coalition government in a row over an investigation into corruption. |
| Mr Kaczynski's conservative Law and Justice Party is being pitted against the rival, centre-right Civic Platform. | Mr Kaczynski's conservative Law and Justice Party is being pitted against the rival, centre-right Civic Platform. |
| On Saturday, a leading Polish newspaper warned of low turnout and voter apathy. | On Saturday, a leading Polish newspaper warned of low turnout and voter apathy. |
| Much of the front page of the Gazeta Wyborcza was left blank, in a symbolic representation of the 60% of voters who failed to turn out for the parliamentary election two years ago. | Much of the front page of the Gazeta Wyborcza was left blank, in a symbolic representation of the 60% of voters who failed to turn out for the parliamentary election two years ago. |
| Polarised | Polarised |
| Some are calling these elections the most important since the fall of Communism in 1989. | Some are calling these elections the most important since the fall of Communism in 1989. |
| Certainly Poland is a country polarised between supporters and opponents of Mr Kaczynski. | Certainly Poland is a country polarised between supporters and opponents of Mr Kaczynski. |
| Mr Kaczynski believes Poland has not dealt with its communist past | |
| The 58-year-old prime minister believes the state is broken and he is the first politician to try to mend it. | The 58-year-old prime minister believes the state is broken and he is the first politician to try to mend it. |
| He has done this by giving extra power to anti-corruption agencies while purging former communists. | He has done this by giving extra power to anti-corruption agencies while purging former communists. |
| Mr Kaczynski has also promoted an assertive foreign policy and traditional Catholic values. | Mr Kaczynski has also promoted an assertive foreign policy and traditional Catholic values. |
| His policies and style are not to the taste of many better-off and well-educated city dwellers, who prefer the pro-business Civic Platform party of Donald Tusk. | His policies and style are not to the taste of many better-off and well-educated city dwellers, who prefer the pro-business Civic Platform party of Donald Tusk. |
| The two parties have traded insults during the campaign, but they both have their roots in the anti-communist Solidarity movement and some Poles still believe a coalition between them would give Poland its best chance of stable government. | The two parties have traded insults during the campaign, but they both have their roots in the anti-communist Solidarity movement and some Poles still believe a coalition between them would give Poland its best chance of stable government. |