Organized at the call of Donald Tusk, former Prime Minister and leader of the centrist Civic Coalition bloc, the rally aimed to mobilize voters before the vote. “I want to tell you that there are more than a million of us,” Donald Tusk told the demonstrators, while the next legislative elections take place in 15 days. According to him, it is “the largest political demonstration in the history of Poland” and “the largest political gathering in the world today.” A large demonstration launched by the leader of the Civic Coalition at the beginning of June, bringing together around 500,000 people, had already been organized in the same city.
“We are Poland!”, he said at the end of this “March of a Million Hearts” which filled the main arteries of the capital with compact crowds. Attacking the ruling populist nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, he declared that “Poland deserves better, I am even convinced that Poland deserves the best.”
Polish and European flags
Brandishing Polish and European flags and a small white and red heart, symbol of the centrist coalition, stuck to their chests, the demonstrators proclaimed their disagreement with the government. One of them, Kazimierz Figzal, made a seven-hour journey to the capital from southwest Poland. “We have had enough of what we are witnessing today. Our freedom is reduced. We want democracy, for our children and our grandchildren,” the 65-year-old told AFP.
Many political figures joined the march, including leaders of other opposition parties. “We are ready to win, we are ready to form a democratic, European and modern government,” Robert Biedron, co-leader of the New Left party, told the crowd.
The nationalist populist party and the Civic Coalition neck and neck
Despite numerous conflicts with the European Union and accusations of attacks on the rule of law, PiS, the nationalist populist party of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, maintains a comfortable lead in the polls, with around 35% of voting intentions. , according to the polling institute IBRiS. The Civic Coalition is in second position, supported by 27% of voters, according to the same study.
However, according to Donald Tusk, polls commissioned by his party show that PiS’s lead has recently shrunk to just two percentage points. PiS leaders held their own rally in the southern city of Katowice this Sunday. “We don’t need to wear paper hearts, we have hearts that beat for Poland,” said former Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, mocking the symbol of the opposition march.
Bartlomiej Piela, himself from Katowice, chose to come to Warsaw on Sunday to take part in the demonstration and protest against “what is happening in Poland”. “Breaking basic civil rights and the freedom of women to choose their way of life, pitting Poles against each other […] I hope the march will mobilize people to change this,” said the 29-year-old.