A deeply divided Poland chooses a president in runoff vote
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Two bitter rivals are heading into a razor's-edge presidential runoff election Sunday in Poland that is seen as an important test of populism in Europe after a campaign that exacerbated a conservative-liberal divide in the country.
The tough campaign has seen strains of homophobia and anti-Semitism, and both sides have sought backing from rival political camps in Washington.
President Andrzej Duda, a nationalist and conservative, is seeking a second term, but he faces a tough challenge from liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski. The first round in late June eliminated nine other candidates, leaving the two rivals, both 48.
Duda has made his opposition to LGBT rights a key campaign theme, while Trzaskowski signed a tolerance declaration last year that triggered a backlash against gay rights in the mostly Catholic country.
Duda has called LGBT rights an “ideology” more dangerous than communism, and on Monday he formally proposed a constitutional amendment to bar same-sex couples from adopting children.
He and his Law and Justice party have won the backing of older and rural Poles, helped by cash payments to families and other welfare programs.
“These last five years have been a good time that we have used well,” Duda told supporters at a rally Monday. “I want to continue this policy -- for the family, for the development of Poland, for the development of all generations of my countrymen.”
But many liberal and urban Poles reject a brand of populism that they see as xenophobic and dangerous to their standing with European partners.
Last month, Duda was feted at the White House by President Donald Trump, who said he was doing a “terrific job.” Trzaskowski later turned to former President Barack Obama to discuss the state of...
