The victory was as unexpected as it was highly symbolic. By topping the poll with 37.1% of the vote for his party, the Civic Coalition (center-right, part of the European People's Party group, EPP), Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk succeeded in his gamble. He ended the string of seven consecutive victories for Jaroslaw Kaczynski's national-populist Law and Justice party (PiS, part of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, ECR). It had been 10 years since Tusk's party had topped an election. In power between 2015 and 2023, the PiS was unable to maintain its position due to a lack of a majority, despite its victory in the last parliamentary elections in October 2023, and had to make way for the Civic Coalition.

According to the final results, the Civic Coalition will send 21 MEPs to Strasbourg and the PiS will send 20 (36.2% of the vote). The far-right libertarian party Konfederacja recorded its highest score ever, with 12.1% and six MEPs, but it remains unclear which political group this motley crew intends to align with. The Third Way, an alliance of the Polish People's Party PSL (EPP) and the Christian Democrats of Polska 2050 (Renew), won 6.9% of the vote and three MEPs. The Left obtained a score of 6.3% and will also send three MEPs.

On the evening of Sunday, June 9, during the election, Tusk openly showed his emotions when the initial partial results indicated an even stronger outcome for his party. "Despite these difficult times, I'm swallowing tears of joy (...). We have undoubtedly obtained the best score in Europe among the major pro-European parties," he told his supporters. "In Germany, the situation is not good, in France dramatic. In Poland, democracy is triumphant. We have shown that we are a beacon of hope in Europe, and the leaders of the European Union!"

For Tusk, the stakes were high. After eight years of populist governance, the election would show if the "liberal counter-revolution" launched six months ago was bearing fruit and still arousing the enthusiasm of his electorate. "I know you'd like [this process] to go better and faster," he declared. "But I have one great satisfaction today: It confirms we haven't wasted our time since the [election on] October 15." This was an important morale booster for the democrats ahead of the spring 2025 presidential election when the ruling coalition hopes to end its political cohabitation with PiS president Andrzej Duda.

Tusk's influence has also been considerably strengthened at the European level, notably in decisions concerning the next distribution of posts in Brussels. The former leader of the European People's Party (EPP) can now present himself not only as the man who managed to oust a populist party with authoritarian overtones from power in a highly unequal contest but also as the only pro-European head of government to score so highly in this election. Eight months after the October 15 Coalition, Poland is once again sending a signal to Europe that nationalist populism can be defeated.

You have 43.44% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.