In Poland's far-right hotspot, a look at the presidential vote

KLESZCZOW, Poland (AFP) — A large water park has pride of place in the heart of Kleszczow, a village in central Poland — an apparent sign of the prosperity of the area known as “the Polish Kuwait.”

But residents worry these riches will come to an end. That was a chief concern when they overwhelmingly voted for the far right in the first round of Poland’s presidential election this month.

The far right is now playing kingmaker ahead of the Sunday runoff, which will pit pro-EU Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski against nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki.

The rivals are neck-and-neck in opinion polls.

Located behind the water park slide are the smokestacks of the massive Belchatow brown coal-fired power station — Europe’s largest and most toxic, and the source of Kleszczow’s prosperity.

All around lie slag heaps from the coal mine that powers the station.

Together, the two businesses employ 18,000 people. But the specter of their closure hangs over Kleszczow.

In round one of the election, the two far-right candidates together received more than a third of votes in the village of 6,000 people, against an average of 20% nationwide.

The ruling centrists “want to close the mine, so there’s nothing left here. It’s really getting worse and worse under this government,” said 40-year-old Kamil Skulimowski, who works at the mine.

He is critical of the pro-EU ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

But it is the previous right-wing government that decided — in agreement with Brussels — to gradually shut down both the mine and power station from 2030.

The only hope for residents is that the current government will decide to replace it with a power plant, but the decision has yet to be made.

Skulimowski voted for far-right candidate Slawomir Mentzen in round one.

This time he plans to vote for Nawrocki, who is backed by the right-wing main opposition party, Law and Justice, known by its Polish initials, PiS.

“If Trzaskowski wins, they (the ruling centrists) will sell the country, destroy it,” Skulimowski told AFP.

He also accused the governing coalition and Trzaskowski of wanting to bring in immigrants and promote LGBTQ movements.

Immigrants

Mentzen is a euroskeptic libertarian staunchly opposed to abortion and migrants.

He obtained his record score in Kleszczow, with 25% of votes, against his national average of nearly 15%.

In Poland, the job of president is largely ceremonial but comes with crucial veto power.

That has stymied Tusk, the prime minister, from delivering on plans such as judicial reforms, loosening abortion law and introducing civil unions.

Outgoing President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is not eligible to run after two terms in office, had signaled he would veto such bills.

A Trzaskowski victory would give the government a major boost, while a Nawrocki win would reinforce its difficult cohabitation with the president.

“I definitely won’t be voting for Trzaskowski in the second round,” said Anna Bednarska, a 27-year-old greengrocer.

She said she voted for Mentzen in round one. He won her over with his election proposals, especially for tax cuts.

She is backing Nawrocki in the runoff because she believes his opponent “wants to introduce immigrants into Poland.”

“And I think it would be better for Poland to remain Poland,” she said.

Youth discontent

Robert Dylak, 46, told AFP he believed the far right’s strong showing in Kleszczow was due to discontent among young voters.

He said he too cast his ballot for Mentzen in hopes of breaking the duopoly of centrists and nationalists that has dominated Polish politics for two decades.

In the runoff, Trzaskowski has his vote. He wants to test the government, he said.

“Prime Minister Tusk said he was unable to hold members of the previous PiS government accountable for financial scandals because of the cohabitation with President Duda,” Dylak said. “Then let them hold all the power and put things in order just like he promised.”

In Belchatow, the region’s main town, with a population of some 50,000 people, Mentzen also fared better than his national average.

He won more than 18% of votes there in the first round. The city was also where he held his big election convention before that ballot.

“Belchatow won’t exist without the power plant,” said Wiktor Domanski, an unemployed 21-year-old.

Domanski voted for Mentzen in round one but has yet to choose a side for the runoff, though he is leaning towards Nawrocki.

“I’ll decide right before. The big thing for me is for the discord to end,” he said, referring to the fierce rivalry between the two political camps. “So that people don’t argue over Christmas dinner.”

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By BERNARD OSSER Agence France-Presse