VARIOUS: Polish people and EU commission look forward to closer ties after Poland's parliamentary election

The Polish people and the EU commission look forward to closer ties after Poland's parliamentary election. Poland's centre-right election victors will start talks this week to form a ruling coalition to push through economic reforms and bring the country back into the EU mainstream, party leaders said on Monday (October 22). The centre-right Civic Platform defeated the conservative Law and Justice party of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski in Sunday's (October 21) election after a record number of Poles voted to reject social conservatism and isolationism. Bronislaw Komorowski, Platform's deputy leader, said his party's course on foreign policy would aim to rebuilt Poland's position in the heart of European integration rather than on the sidelines. Platform leader Donald Tusk, expected to be the new prime minister, will start talks in the second half of this week with the centrist Peasants' Party on forming a new government for the European Union's biggest ex-communist state. Party officials said a final decision on a coalition would be taken on November 10. According to preliminary results from the electoral commission, Civic Platform won over 41 percent of the vote, giving them 209 seats in the lower house -- short of an outright majority of 231 seats. Final results are due on Tuesday (October 23). Judge Stanislaw Zablocki from the Central Voting Committee said the estimate turnout of nearly 54 percent is the highest since elections in 1991. Some political commentators contribute Civic Platform's victory to the high turnout. With 99 percent of the vote counted, the Peasants' Party had almost 9 percent, giving the likely government a total of 240 seats in the 460-seat lower house, the Sejm. The Peasants have signaled readiness to join a coalition. In Brussels, the European Union looked for a new era of strong cooperation with Poland on after the pro-EU centre-right grouping beat the ruling party of the Euro-sceptic Kaczynski twins in the parliamentary election. Diplomats and officials said they expected a government led by the election-winning Civic Platform (PO) to close the chapter of mistrust between Brussels and Warsaw and put the country firmly on the path to adopt the euro currency. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was one of the first to congratulate Donald Tusk. "I never had doubts about the commitment of the Polish people to Europe and to democracy" he said. European Diplomats said they expected Poland, which joined the EU in 2004, to stop blocking the bloc's policy initiatives, as has frequently been the case under the outgoing government, which said it needed to protect the country's national interests. The Platform plans to bring Poland into the single currency area in 2012-13. In Warsaw, the Polish nation woke up to what many hope will be a new beginning after Sunday's parliamentary elections. On the streets of Warsaw many people celebrated the news. "I am very happy, I have big expectations like all Poles. We give a lot of trust to Mr Tusk." said commuter Pawal Puwlaski while on his way to work. Some hoped things would finally get better for the Polish people. "I think something will finally start happening. After two years of arguments during which nothing constructive happened, I hope things will get better now." said Kornelia Kozak. While most Pole's welcomed the change, Krzysztof Wanucki said that it would make no difference. "We will see, probably nothing will change. Maybe in the case of Christian aspects, abortions will get easier. But regarding the economy, I think nothing will change." he said.

ITN Source | October 22, 2007

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