In Poland, the opposition managed to bring together around “a million” demonstrators in the streets of Warsaw this Sunday, October 1, according to the town hall. The slogan of the gathering: the end of PiS in power and the “ system change “.
3 mins
“ About a million people », according to the Warsaw town hall, demonstrated on Sunday October 1 in the center of the Polish capital against the populist-nationalist government, 15 days before the legislative elections. 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 », Launched Donald Tusk to the demonstrators. According to him, it is “ the largest political demonstration in Polish history “. “ We are Poland! », he shouted at the end of the march which filled the main arteries of the capital with a compact crowd.
Attacking the nationalist populist Law and Justice (PiS) party in power, Tusk assured that “ Poland deserves better, I am even convinced that Poland deserves the best “. “ We are here to win the legislative elections of October 15 “, he declared again, with the demonstrators echoing who chanted “ We win ! », Polish and European flags brandished.
Read alsoDonald Tusk, the man through whom change in Poland can come
A massive gathering which brings comfort to the heart of Witold, a demonstrator encountered on site: “ We are together and there is real hope for the elections in two weeks for Poland to change direction. I am proud to see all these people, in fact this march reminds me of the feeling of the early 1990s when we believed we could fight the communists and change the system, change the face of Poland and we had succeeded.. »
“ Today, in this march, there are people who represent many political movementscontinues Witold. There are centrists, liberals, people on the left. What all these people have in common is that we all want to change the system. “. Many political figures joined the march, including leaders of other opposition parties.
Polls still favorable to PiS
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. The latest figures from the IBRiS institute give it 35% of voting intentions, compared to 27% for the Civic Coalition. Even if, according to Mr. Tusk, polls commissioned by his party show that PiS’s lead has recently been reduced 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.
(With AFP)