From the NY Times: Opposition Heading to Victory in Poland

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A pro-business opposition party that wants to bring Poland’s troops home from Iraq was headed to an overwhelming victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, exit polls showed, setting it up to oust the prime minister’s staunchly pro-U.S. government.

It would be a stinging defeat for Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, whose conservative Law and Justice party was elected two years ago and has since been criticized for its combative approach to the European Union and efforts to purge former communists from positions of influence.

Appearing before supporters late Sunday, Kaczynski said ”we didn’t manage in the face of this unprecedented broad front of attacks,” referring to the opposition’s campaign.

Donald Tusk, the leader of the opposition Civic Platform party, said the election showed that Poles want to focus on the economic opportunities presented by the country’s membership in the EU, which Poland joined in 2004.

”It is Civic Platform’s intention to make Poles feel much better in their own country than they have felt so far,” Tusk told cheering supporters. ”We are going to do huge work and we will do it well. You have the right to rejoice today.”

State TV projections showed the Civic Platform party and its preferred coalition partner, the small Polish Peasants Party, winning a majority of seats in the lower house, which would allow them to form a government together and knock Kaczynski from power.

An exit poll for TVP state television showed 43.7 percent of people voting for Civic Platform and 30.4 percent choosing Kaczynski’s Law and Justice party.

A TVN24 private television exit poll showed a 44.2 percent to 31.3 percent edge for Civic Platform, and also showed Civic Platform’s preferred coalition partner, the Polish Peasants Party, with 7.9 percent — enough to give the two parties a majority of the popular vote.

Exactly correct on bringing the troops home, exactly correct on good relations with neighboring countries, exactly correct on telling President Bush and company: ‘Thanks for nothing.’

An interesting aside, the Leader of the Civic Platform (PO – Platforma Obywatelska) is Donald Tusk – ethnically a Kashubian.