Warsaw, Poland – Warsaw’s conservative Mayor Lech Kaczynski won Poland’s presidential runoff vote Sunday, sealing the rise of a party headed by his twin brother that pledges to uphold Roman Catholic values and strong welfare-state protections.
Kaczynski, who appealed to older and poorer voters with promises to protect social safety protections that have eroded somewhat in the 16 years since the collapse of communism, defeated pro-market legislator Donald Tusk.
Kaczynski, a former child actor, claimed victory and signaled that he was ready to reach out to Tusk’s party after the hard-fought election.
With 91 percent of the votes counted, Kaczynski led Tusk 55.5 percent to 44.5 percent, according to election officials.
“Polish society, despite all its divisions, must become one as soon as possible,” Kaczynski said, looking calm and contented. “This is a task for me as president.”
Tusk conceded defeat, telling glum supporters: “Today I must tell myself I did not make it.”
The outcome showed a strong come-from-behind victory for Kaczynski, who trailed Tusk 33 percent to 36 percent in the first round of voting Oct. 9.
Also crucial for voters in Poland – the homeland of the late Pope John Paul II – were Kaczynski’s promises to preserve Roman Catholic values, such as current bans on abortion and gay marriage.
With Poland a new European Union member, many Poles fear that their society’s contact with the secular West threatens their traditional conservative values.
Kaczynski would become half of an extraordinary power team at the head of Polish politics – his twin, Jaroslaw, heads their Law and Justice party, which won parliamentary elections Sept. 25.
The brothers, both former activists in the Solidarity trade- union movement, won fame as child stars in a hit film, “Two Who Stole the Moon.”
But their resemblance became a political handicap, pushing Jaroslaw to abandon his claim to become prime minister in favor of little-known party official Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz.
