Donald Tusk, the new head of Europe - Telegraph EU Donald Tusk, the new head of Europe Tusk has also long been a proponent of free markets, privatisation and minimal government interference - a stance that should made him a natural ally of the UK Donald Tusk, president of the European Council Photo: AFP By Matthew Day, in Warsaw and Bruno Waterfeld in Brussels 7:00AM BST 31 Aug 2014 Initially reluctant to leave national politics, Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister was persuaded by his wife Malgorzata for the “prestige, better money and less problems at work” that come with a top Brussels job at the top of EU officialdom renowned for its “gravy train” pay and perks. Mr Tusk currently earns 240,000 zloty a year, a salary that is worth just €60,000 (£47,500) a year, making him one of the lowest paid EU leaders. In the EU post, he will earn over five times with a pay and perks package worth well over €300,000 a year, including a personal motorcade of five limousines.

That Mr Tusk could step into some of Europe’s biggest shoes has surprised many in Poland. Unlike Radek Sikorski, his ardently Europhile foreign minister, he has never made any public declaration of seeking a job in Brussels - even last month saying that he intended to stay in Poland - and has never really outlined in depth his views on Europe. Senior EU officials have described a growing consensus building around Mr Tusk, who is supported by Germany, as the star of his main rival, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Danish prime minister and daughter-in-law of Lord Kinnock, wanes. “It is a progressive consensus. Her name is Angela Merkel,” joked a Brussels ambassador. Earlier last week, perhaps seeking to curry favour in Berlin, David Cameron added his support to Mr Tusk’s bandwagon. Related Articles Merkel under pressure to ditch 'blackmailing' Cameron in EU president row 02 Jun 2014 The Prime Minister backed Mr Tusk to please the German chancellor and also in the hope that the centre-Right Pole will act as a counter-balance to the federalist ambitions of Jean-Claude Juncker, the incoming president of the European Commission.

The 57-year-old prime minister’s prospects for a European role are mainly hindered by his weakness at English. Although improving, Mr Tusk rarely speaks English in public and when he does it comes with a strong Polish accent. Although Mr Tusk’s commitment to the EU has grown over his seven years in office as Poland prospered from union membership, the 57-year-old Polish leader has retained a pragmatic stance on European policy and is committed to its reform. Mr Tusk has also long been a proponent of free markets, privatisation and minimal government interference - a stance that should made him a natural ally of the UK. Despite this, Poland and the UK have clashed in Europe with the two falling out over Mr Cameron call for limits on EU freedom of movement rights that benefit millions of Poles working in Britain. His relationship with Mrs Merkel, has been a mixed blessing domestically, leading to accusations from nationalists circles that he is too close to a country that was for long Poland’s traditional enemy but her blessing counts for a lot in Brussels. Mr Tusk’s instinct to form strong bonds with Germany may stem from his own background.

Although born in the northern city of Gdansk, his family hail from the Kaszuby region of Poland, a small distinctive area not far from the city where, for years before the Second World War, Polish and German culture entwined and national divisions blurred. One of Mr Tusk’s grandfathers was even forced to join Hitler’s armies in 1944 after spending time in a concentration camp. This fact was picked up by his opponents, and used in an attempt derail his political career - but the attempt failed and Mr Tusk went on to become a dominant force in Polish politics. As leader of the economically liberal Civic Platform party, he became prime minister in 2007 after inflicting a heavy defeat on his bitter foe Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Credited with bringing order and stability after the turbulent Kaczynski years, which were punctuated by frequent scandals and arguments with Poland’s neighbours, the softly-spoken Mr Tusk made Polish history in 2011 by becoming the first prime minister to be re-elected since the fall of Communism. But since then his star had waned.

His government has been dogged by scandal and accusations that it is doing too little to reform the economy, and to the chagrin of its supporters Civic Platform now trails Mr Kaczynski’s Law and Justice party in the opinion polls. Sensing that the departure of Mr Tusk will hasten the demise of Civic Platform, Jaroslaw Kaczynski said he hoped his rival would get the job because it would mean “he will not be here”. Rafal Pankowski, an expert on Poland’s political Right, also said he feared Tusk leaving Poland could inflict a hammer blow on his party, which faces a general election next year. “Without him it is difficult to imagine how the party will survive and maintain the same level of support,” he commented. “There is no successor who has the same track record as he does.

He holds the party together.” Polish prime minister Donald Tusk expected to become top EU official | World news | The Guardian European Union Polish prime minister Donald Tusk expected to become top EU official Hawk on Kremlin and Ukraine crisis signals he will take job as European council president if there is a consensus behind him Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, is set to become the top official who chairs EU summits and mediates between the 28 government. Photograph: Alik Keplicz/AP Saturday 30 August 2014 03.00 EDT First published on Saturday 30 August 2014 03.00 EDT Close This article is 2 years old The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, is expected to become the co-leader of the European Union when EU government chiefs meet to decide who will head the union for the next five years. Tusk, a leading EU hawk on the Kremlin and the crisis in Ukraine, is set to become the second president of the European council, the top official who chairs EU summits and mediates between the 28 governments.

He has come under strong pressure over the past week to accept the post andsignalled on Friday that he would take the job if there was a consensus behind him. Tusk's difficulty is that he speaks no French and only poor English, the lingua franca of the summits and also essential in representing the EU abroad and to the media. He understands German. Gazeta Wyborcza, the leading Polish daily newspaper, reported that Tusk's wife was keen on the move to Brussels as it would mean more money, more prestige, and more time off. The 28 leaders are to meet in Brussels on Saturday evening to decide the top job and appoint a new EU foreign policy chief to replace Britain's Catherine Ashton, who was the first holder of the post. She is almost certain to be replaced by Federica Mogherini, the Italian foreign minister who has been pushed strongly by Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, and backed by the EU's social democratic leaders. Federica Mogherini, the Italian foreign minister, is almost certain to replace Britain's Catherine Ashton as the EU foreign policy chief.

Photograph: GEORGES GOBET/AFP Mogherini was also opposed by the Poles and other east Europeans last month as she was seen as too soft on Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. The emergence of the Tusk-Mogherini ticket removes that opposition as Poland has been leading the campaign for a more energetic anti-Putin and pro-Ukraine policy. Senior EU officials involved in the negotiations said the summit was certain to make the two appointments although names were not confirmed. The Danish prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a social democrat, has also been a frontrunner to replace Herman Van Rompuy of Belgium, the incumbent president who will chair the summit and propose the names. The Mogherini nomination, EU officials admitted, confirmed the relative lack of clout going with the job at a time of barely precedented foreign policy challenges around the EU's borders. The 41-year-old has been Italian foreign minister for six months. Her appointment has been accompanied by a complete absence of discussion of European foreign policy, aims, strategies, and resources. The outgoing Ashton was also handicapped by the reluctance of national capitals and foreign ministries to surrender powers over foreign policy.

She is widely seen to have underperformed, while notching up notable achievements in the Balkans and in mediating nuclear crisis talks with Iran. The two posts have to be decided on Saturday in order to enable the new head of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to get on with forming his team of 28 commissioners over the next fortnight. Their appointment unlocks the complicated set of criteria determining commission portfolios – involving party political alignment, gender and nationality. Juncker, the former Luxemburg PM, replaces José Manuel Barroso on 1 November. With the exception of foreign policy, Juncker has power over the allocation of portfolios. The economic jobs are the most coveted, but he has refused so far to show his hand. Juncker's main problem is the lack of women. Barroso's outgoing commission has nine women and so far governments have sent Juncker only four, including Mogherini. Gianni Pittella, the leader of the socialists in the European parliament said his group would oppose "a college of European commissioners with fewer women than today".

While the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has been Tusk's strongest backer, David Cameron came out this week in his support despite previous frictions over the British prime minister's attempts to curb freedom of movement in the EU and calls to clamp down on welfare benefits for EU migrants, both policies hitting the large Polish community in the UK. While the summit was called to focus on the leadership appointments after last month's failure to agree on anything, it looks likely to be hijacked by the Ukraine emergency and the Russian invasion in the east of the country. Putin's boldness and his timing is particularly an affront to Merkel who is leading the diplomatic effort in Europe and who was in Ukraine only last weekend. • This article was amended on 30 August 2014. The original version wrongly referred to Gianni Pittella as "her". This has been corrected.

European council president promises help to UK prime minister to renegotiate terms of EU membership Published: 15 Mar 2015 The new president of the European council says there can be no watering down of EU sanctions against Russia because this would be appeasement Published: 15 Mar 2015 The Polish statesman has led his country as prime minister while – alone in the EU – it remained untouched by the recession Published: 31 Aug 2014 Prime minister wants reformist to help balance against views of federalist commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker Published: 26 Aug 2014 Poland: Politics without Tusk | The Economist Politics without Tusk Tweet DONALD TUSK’s elevation to president of the European Council, the most prestigious job for a Pole since Karol Wojtyla became John Paul II, has left a gaping hole at the heart of Polish politics. How will it be filled? The answer will determine whether the ruling Civic Platform (PO) party can hang on to power and win a third parliamentary term next year. Mr Tusk has dominated Poland’s political scene ever since he became prime minister in 2007.

In his long years in power he has stamped his authority on PO, and winnowed out any unruly barons who threatened his rule. Underneath the shy demeanour, and the winning smile that charmed fellow European leaders, is a tough political player. The two men who co-founded PO with him in 2001 have long since been pushed aside. Rivals who dared challenge him, among them Grzegorz Schetyna, a former deputy prime minister and interior minister and once one of Mr Tusk's closest friends, have been consigned to the back benches of parliament or ejected from the party. That leaves Mr Tusk with the decisive voice in choosing a successor. He takes up his new post in Brussels in December. Once he resigns, Bronislaw Komorowski, the president and a Tusk ally, will have to appoint a new prime minister, who will then have two weeks to win the confidence of parliament. That should not be much of a challenge, as PO and their junior coalition partners from the Polish People's Party have a slim majority in the legislature.

The likeliest candidate to replace Mr Tusk is Ewa Kopacz, the speaker of parliament and former health minister who has become one of Mr Tusk's closest allies.“Ewa Kopacz owes her advance in the political hierarchy to Donald Tusk and to her loyalty to him,” writes Wojciech Szacki of Polityka Insight, a researcher . He adds that if she becomes prime minister then Mr Tusk will maintain influence over the new government, which will be likely to stick to most of his administration's policies. Other possible candidates include Tomasz Siemoniak, the defence minister, and Elzbieta Bienkowska, the deputy prime minister in charge of spending the flood of EU funds pouring into Poland—although she may get the nod to take up Poland's slot as a European commissioner. Although Mr Tusk's name had been bandied about for months as a possible European Council president, the prime minister had been reluctant to go, worried that his party could splinter without his presence in Warsaw. PO has sagged in opinion polls over the past year, overtaken by the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a long-time foe of Mr Tusk.

The prime minister has been further damaged by the “Waitergate” scandal, in which several senior ministers were recorded (apparently by waiters) having embarrassing conversations in fancy Warsaw restaurants. He was facing the prospect of a gruelling election campaign next year, followed by a best-case outcome of a very wobbly coalition of everybody but PiS. Mr Tusk’s decision to go to Brussels seems to be giving his dispirited party a lift, at least in the short term. As he departs, PO feels it has a decent chance of winning November's local elections and is more optimistic about next year's parliamentary vote. When Mr Tusk appeared on a television interview programme earlier this week, he was even serenaded by the studio audience, thrilled by their country's achievement in securing such a prominent post.

Polish PM to stay for second term — RT News Tags Election , Politics , Europe , Polish President's plane crash , Aleksey Yaroshevsky , Matt Trezza After counting 99.18 per cent of ballots, Tusk’s ruling Civic Platform Party has 39.19 per cent of the vote, against 29.88 per cent for the main rival, the opposition Law and Justice Party of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of Lech Kaczynski, the president of Poland who perished in plane crash in 2010 . Palikot’s Movement, headed by politician and businessman Janusz Palikot, received 10 per cent, the PSL party of the current deputy premier, Waldemar Pawlak, has 8.36 per cent, whereas 8.25 per cent has gone to the Democratic Left Alliance.­ At his party gathering late on Sunday, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, acknowledged his defeat but said that his Law and Justice Party will aspire to win the next ballot.

"We respect the results of the election, but our task for the next four years will be convincing millions of Poles – because we are supported by millions – that the changes are necessary for the new shape of Poland," he said. The official results are due to be announced on Tuesday night. This is not going to be a straight victory for Donald Tusk, because he will still have to form a coalition with other parties in order to stay in power for the second term. But few experts doubt that Tusk will be able to unite forces with several other parties. The Civic Platform Party is expected to form a coalition with PSL, the party of the current deputy premier, Waldemar Pawlak. For Poland the stay of the prime minister might well be a historic move. Since 1989, Poles have been changing their ruling party, and therefore government, every single election. Now this ministerial merry-go-round seems to be over. The Polish government is formed by the party that prevails in parliamentary elections. The party then recommends a prime minister who has to be approved by both the president and the parliament.

In any case, Tusk’s likely victory comes as no surprise as all previous polls showed that Poles are fully satisfied with their prime minister and his cabinet guiding the country at the time of the global recession. Piotr Kaczynski from the Center for European Policy Studies explains what this satisfaction is based on. “[Prime Minister Tusk] has been very successful, not only Poland has been the only country [in Europe] back in 2009 not to have a contraction of its economy – it’s been constantly growing for over 20 years now – but the unemployment has been under control, inflation has been under control, the country has been heavily investing in the infrastructure and other areas of public life,” he told RT. embed video So, despite a rather low voter turnout in the traditionally politically-active Poland, those who showed up preferred the Civic Platform Party of Donald Tusk. The last four years of Donald Tusk in power has been marked by improving relations with Russia, in particular after the tragic Smolensk plane crash that claimed lives of practically all of the political and military elite of Poland, including country’s President Lech Kaczynski. The Russian side has done everything possible to help in the investigation of the tragedy.

Should Donald Tusk be confirmed as the country’s PM for a second term, Russia expects his foreign policy to remain intact – although some experts have suggested otherwise – and the relations with Russia to stay on the same level. Tusk’s Civic Platform Party is known as pro-European and pro-EU, but at the same time it tries to keep a very warm and close relation with its eastern neighbor. The final results of the vote are expected to come late on Monday or early on Tuesday when all the votes have been counted. Tusk strengthens resolve to bring the Euro to Poland “We have become a great, proud country.” — Donald Tusk, during celebrations marking two years of his government, 2010 For most countries, 2009 was an economic nightmare. But for Poland it was a year of miracles. Under the keen eye of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Poland not only steered clear of the financial crisis but also climbed above the Netherlands to become the sixth biggest economy in Europe, even registering a GDP growth of 1.7%. Tusk’s cautionary approaches coupled with Poland’s robust internal demand tided the country over the crisis. When the recession set in, Tusk wasted no time.

He introduced a stimulus package worth $30 billion in December 2008, which he called, “a stabilization and development program.” Aimed at stepping up bank guarantees, providing loans to small and medium enterprises, and promoting renewable energies, the package is a testimony to Tusk’s liberal and pro-business propensities. In 2009, while other nations struggled to shore up their finances, Poland’s GDP per capita actually increased from 50% to 56% of the EU average. Poland ended 2009 with a flourish, recording a growth of 3.1% of the GDP in the fourth quarter, surging above expectations, as a frail zloty and improving demand from the Euro-zone bolstered exports. The Polish economy is now expected to grow 3% in 2010 and unemployment figures are slowing down. In the past, Poland had long neglected its businesses, which were choking with bureaucratic red-tape. The country had ceased to be a commerce-friendly place.

Since his election in 2007, Tusk, the co-founder of the center-right Civic Platform party, has been the face of change in the Polish economy with his pro-business, freemarket-oriented policies and transparent approach. Tusk has freed the business environment from state intervention and bureaucratic snares, making Poland more accessible to foreign investors. For a country used to opaque policies and scheming politicians, the affable and diffident Tusk arrived on the scene like a breath of fresh air. Poland had been in the grip of the Kaczynskis, known as the “terrible twins,” whose Law and Justice Party had swept voters in the 2005 polls. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Tusk’s predecessor, and his identical twin Lech Kaczynski, whose presidential term ends this year, had quickly become infamous for their frosty demeanor toward Poland’s European neighbors, particularly Germany. Opinion polls taken during the 2007 elections revealed that 80% of Poles were extremely dissatisfied and embarrassed with their government. With Tusk’s arrival, amendments such as online tax filing and speedier customs clearance have been set in motion.

In addition, Tusk’s script has included a few significant changes including pay hikes for teachers and modernizing the Polish army. He has also tackled some of Poland’s long rankling worries, primarily the country’s creaking infrastructure. For the past 20 years, Poland’s infrastructure, like its businesses, had been trapped in the cat and mouse game of bureaucracy, with many significant projects trundling to a stop. But Tusk’s government has begun working with renewed zeal, keeping aside $35 billion to improve Polish roads. Tusk has promised Poles that nearly 1,250 miles of highways will be in place by 2012, the year Poland co-hosts the European football championships. Although the strain of bringing Poland to this stage shows on the 53-year-old Tusk’s haggard face, his apparent weariness and mild manners belie a steely decisiveness. Perhaps this toughness comes from his modest background. Tusk, the son of a carpenter, was once an anti-communist student leader prior to championing the Solidarity movement. Later, he set up an industrial painting business, which involved working for up to 16 hours a day in inclement weather to meet deadlines.

“Donald knew how to run a company, just as he knew how to be a worker,” his close friend Jerzy Borowczak commented to AFP. Tusk brings the same determination to the table in his management of the country. Currently, one of the Prime Minister’s top priorities is securing Poland’s adoption of the euro currency. But first, the country must meet a key requirement –Poland has to flatten its public deficit from 6.3% in 2009 to 3% of the GDP by 2012. Tusk is up to the task. His assessment of the country is simple and free of bias. “Poland is quite a mediocre country in some regards. The only natural resource that we have, and with which we can compete, is freedom,” he tells TIME. And it seems that for now at least, Tusk has become the torch bearer for that freedom.

Polish election pits PM Donald Tusk against former Solidarity comrade | World news | The Guardian Poland Polish election pits PM Donald Tusk against former Solidarity comrade Polls put footballing prime minister ahead of Jaroslaw Kaczynski by anything from 1% to 13% in run up to Sunday's election Polish prime minister Donald Tusk smiles at his supporters during election rally in Krakow. Photograph: Agencja Gazeta/Reuters Remi Adekoya in Warsaw and Helen Pidd in Berlin Thursday 6 October 2011 15.51 EDT First published on Thursday 6 October 2011 15.51 EDT Close This article is 5 years old He has sweetened sour relations with neighbours, started modernising Poland's creaky infrastructure and, in perhaps his greatest achievement, presided over economic growth while every other EU country went into recession in 2009. Yet Donald Tusk , the calm, football-playing Polish prime minister who never raises his voice off the pitch, is not guaranteed to stay in the top job following Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Recent polls, to be viewed with particular caution in Poland , have given Tusk's pro-business, pro-EU Civic Platform (PO) a lead as narrow as one percentage point over the eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party run by his old Solidarity comrade-turned-foe and former prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is the twin brother of the late president Lech Kaczynski. Other surveys suggest Tusk, a lean and youthful 54, will easily become the first democratically elected Polish prime minister since the cold war to serve two consecutive terms. Bartek Nowak, executive director of the Centre for International Relations, a Warsaw-based thinktank, says the only real uncertainty is whether Tusk will be able to continue his steady coalition with the farmer-friendly Peasants' party (PSL), which is largely happy as long as generous agricultural subsidies remain in place – or will have to find a third coalition partner.

The third party could be the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), which is sure to oppose Tusk's plan to privatise more state enterprises and the near-inevitable public spending cuts looming – the next government will have to tame Poland's large budget deficit in order to bring it back below the EU's ceiling of 3% of gross domestic product from recent highs of 10%. The other option could be a new party, Palikot's Movement, named after its flamboyant founder, Janusz Palikot, a former member of the PO who is campaigning on an anti-church, pro-gay rights, pro-abortion ticket. PR mastermind Palikot, 46, has a high profile in Poland. In 2007, while an MP, he produced a gun and a dildo at a press conference called to discuss the case of police officers from Lublin who had been accused of rape. On another occasion, in 2009, he mused on his blog whether Kaczynski, a bachelor who lives with his elderly mother and a cat, was gay. "I declare – unequivocally unasked – that I prefer women.

What about you, Mr Jaroslaw?" he wrote. Analysts believe Palikot could lure younger voters away from PO with his anti-priest rhetoric (example: "Why must every new football field be blessed by a priest?"). The Catholic church continues to play an enormous role in public life in Poland – recently a group of bishops tried to make the public broadcaster TVP sack a judge from its X Factor-style show, The Voice of Poland, after accusing him of being a "known Satanist". Adam Darski, a heavy metal singer, ripped up a Bible on stage in 2007 . Nowak said Tusk was most likely to lose votes from disaffected younger Poles. "In 2007 the younger generation was mobilised in order to get Kaczynski and Law and Justice out," he said. "That is no longer the scenario. Also, there is a lot of unhappiness about the high levels of youth unemployment [hovering above 20%] in Poland right now." Marcin Waszak, a political scientist from the Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw, said many voters felt Tusk had not delivered all of his promises.

"Many people are dissatisfied with the pace of change, for example in improving Poland's infrastructure and modernising the health service." But there is everything to play for: one poll released on Wednesday suggested 23% of voters had not yet made up their minds. Until very recently, Tusk must have believed he was a shoo-in. PO was enjoying approval ratings of up to 50%, and abroad he was being heralded as a breath of fresh air as he took over the rotating presidency of the EU this July. Yet the wily Kaczynski, a former child actor with an innate talent for knowing which buttons to press among the millions of older Poles who feel they emerged from communism as losers, has played a clever game. He toned down the whispers suggesting the 2010 Smolensk air crash that killed his twin brother en route to Russia on a presidential trip was a plot cooked up by the insecure Tusk and the nefarious Russians, and presented himself as a cuddly, avuncular figure who has only the interests of his beloved country folk at heart.

The 62-year-old has also dodged a head-to-head debate with Tusk, perhaps mindful of how a similar showdown in 2007 is widely believed to have lost him the last election. Sometimes the mask slips: Kaczynski caused uproar this week with anti-German sentiment in his new book, The Poland of our Dreams. Not only does he accuse Angela Merkel of wanting "a subordination" on Poland's part – "one day we might find ourselves in a smaller Poland" he writes darkly – but he also casts doubt on the legitimacy of her chancellorship by suggesting her appointment was not "the result of a pure coincidence" and should be studied by "political scientists and historians". Tusk accused Kaczynski of "exposing Poland's national interests to harm", and said there is "no greater friend to Poland than Merkel". The foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, called on PiS to stop "stirring up bad blood against Poland's biggest trading partner". The prospect of a Kaczynski victory, however remote, was not welcomed by the markets. On Tuesday the zloty traded 0.8% down on the day against the euro after sharp falls on European equity markets.

But if the provocative remarks were timed to increase support among older Poles who have long been mistrustful of neighbours who invaded and dominated Poland in past centuries, they appear to have backfired. A poll for TNS OBOP suggested that PiS had plunged to 18% with the PO on 31%. In third with 10% was Palikot's Movement. Making history When John Godson arrived in Poland from his native Nigeria in 1993, he was the object of much curiosity. "Back then it was just a few years after the end of communism and people weren't used to seeing foreigners. Where I lived I was the first black person most people had ever seen and they used to ask if they could touch my hair," said the 40-year-old from Poland's ruling Civic Platform party. On Sunday Godson could make history as the first black politician elected to the country's parliament, the Sejm. He has been an MP since 2010 but only by chance: he was a city councillor who automatically took a colleague's seat when she became mayor of Lodz.

At the time Kuba Wojewódzki, a popular talkshow host, commented on air that "Godson is from Nigeria ... the president of Nigeria ate his predecessor". He asked listeners: "Why do Nigerians have flat noses? So they can lap up water from puddles." Wojewódzki and his co-hosts caused further controversy earlier this year when they referred to someone else: "let's call the negro ... this programme is sponsored by the Warsaw branch of the Ku Klux Klan. Which [telephone] network is associated with blacks? The bushmen [network]." The "negro" in question was a half-Indian, half-Polish spokesperson for a government agency. In response, a Polish-African community group appealed to the minister of culture not to allow Wojewódzki be the "face" of Poland at a concert celebrating the country's assumption of the EU presidency in July, which he was scheduled to co-direct. Their complaints fell on deaf ears: the minister replied that Mr Wojewódzki "is an exceptionally open and friendly person who respects the sensitivities of others." This week he is on the cover of one of Poland's biggest and most influential political weeklies.

Godson, whose wife and children are Polish, defines himself as "a Pole of African origin". He says that contrary to the conventional wisdom that better educated people are usually more open to foreigners, his experience had been that poorer, less sophisticated Poles were more friendly towards him. "They tend to feel that as a black person, I understand what it means to be downtrodden and marginalised and can empathise with them better," he said, adding that he meets with positive reactions from Poles "95% of the time." Remi Adekoya • The main article above was amended on 7 October 2011. The original said Jaroslaw Kaczynski was formerly president of Poland, and that his late brother Lech was formerly prime minister; the opposite was the case. The abbreviation for the Polish Peasants' party was given as PDL instead of PSL. It was suggested that the Voice of Poland controversy arose this week, when it arose earlier. This has been been corrected. Lech Kaczynski's position at the time of his death has been clarified, as has a line saying that no democratically elected Polish "leader" since the cold war has yet served two consecutive terms.

Early polls give incumbent a 40% share of the ballot as voters show appreciation for four years of economic growth Published: 9 Oct 2011 Solidarity leader shakes hands with General Jaruzelski, marking reconciliation between arch rivals of cold war Poland Published: 26 Sep 2011 Former dissident and now publisher of Poland's biggest newspaper honoured for work for international cultural relations Published: 28 Aug 2011 Report blaming incorrect and confusing instructions for the Tupolev 154 carrying Lech Kaczynski could increase tensions between the two countries Published: 29 Jul 2011 Print Comments EU leaders elected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on 30 August to be the next President of the European Council. EurActiv Poland recounts his long journey from a historian and a private entrepreneur in Communist Poland, to the founder of the Civic Platform party, and one of the leaders of the European Union. Donald Tusk was elected the successor to Herman Van Rompuy, as the President of the European Council. It was a proud moment for the former student dissident.

Beginnings of a political career Donald Tusk is a graduate of University of Gda?sk, and holds a master’s degree in history. After graduation, he continued his work with “Solidarity” movement, while working as a labourer and a journalist. After the transition to democracy, Tusk established the Liberal-Democratic Congress (Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny), a liberal political party. He was an MP until 1993. After the failure of the LDC in the 1993 elections, the party joined the Freedom Union (Unia Wolno?ci), with Tusk becoming deputy chairman of FU. Civic Platform In 2001, Tusk left the FU when he failed to become elected as the party’s chairman. Together with Maciej P?a?y?ski and Andrzej Olechowski, they founded a new party – the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska). It was a more centre-right party than Tusk’s previous ones, fitting comfortably in the European People’s Party political family. Over the next few years, Tusk centralised the party around himself.

In the 2007 parliamentary elections, he was the sole party leader and his electoral successes only strengthened him. Two years of Kaczy?skis’ rule [the twin brothers Lech and Jaros?aw were respectively President and Prime Minister in 2006-2007] allowed him to present the Civic Platform as the anti-Kaczy?ski party, being modern, whereas Kaczy?ski’s Law and Justice is conservative, and pro-European, in contrast to the Euroscepticism of Law and Justice. Hat trick Despite some unwelcome decisions and criticism for lacking a bold vision for Poland’s future, a fear of Kaczy?ski’s return to power was enough to keep the Civic Platform in power. Now, as his support is dwindling, Tusk has made his latest hat trick – he has become the first person from Central and Eastern Europe to become the President of the European Council. Polish media have welcomed the result of the Saturday’s summit with joy and pride. The commentaries stress the coincidence of the Tusk’s election with the 25th anniversary of the fall of Communism in Poland, and the 10th anniversary of the Polish accession to the EU.

While it is acknowledged that the President’s position is a prestigious one, with a lack of executive power, commentators still hope that Tusk will manage to steer Europe towards calmer waters and to remember the energy of the early Civic Platform campaigns. Polish reactions Becoming the President of the European Council is a proud moment for Tusk himself, but his departure from the Polish scene will leave a void. Over the last ten years, Tusk has managed to become the undisputed leader of the Civic Platform, without any serious challengers to the role of the party leader. The last person to challenge Tusk, Grzegorz Schetyna, a former Minister of Interior, failed in his bid to become the second power in Civic Platform, and is currently out of favour. He has not quit the Civic Platform though, and is still popular among rank-and-file. The question everyone in Poland is asking now is whether Civic Platform will manage to win the upcoming elections despite Tusk’s departure. The next poll will be held on 16 November 2014, so Tusk will still be able to lead his party during the election campaign. The true test will come next year, during the parliamentary and presidential elections.

Upcoming elections While the incumbent president, Bronis?aw Komorowski, seems certain of victory, the parliamentary elections may prove more difficult for the ruling party. Commentators and experts on the Polish political scene are divided in their views. Some believe that the departure of Tusk will provide a new beginning for the Civic Platform which polls currently place below Law and Justice: 26% and 31%, respectively. A need to reorganise the top of the party structure may bring new ideas and revive the energy with which party used to campaign at its beginning, in 2005 and 2007. Politicians from the junior coalition partner note that only one fifth of the public trusts Tusk. A new prime minister will be able to start with a blank slate – and public opinion will be easier on them. Opposition is stirring The other side of the argument is less optimistic for Civic Platform. According to some experts, Civic Platform will be unable to find its balance without Tusk and will destroy itself through infighting. There are already the first signs of tensions – supporters of Schetyna has already called for the elections of a new party leader. According to party regulations, the party chairman is chosen by all members of the party.

Schetyna is willing to bid his popularity against anyone named by Tusk, though supporters of the Prime Minister want to wait with the internal elections and hold them only after national one, as not to divide the party before the electoral campaign. Both sides though are certain that the current Speaker of Sejm (the lower house of the Polish Parliament) Ewa Kopacz will replace Tusk as the Prime Minister. She enjoys support and trust of both Tusk and Komorowski, so nothing should get in her way in leading Polish government at least until the elections next year – and maybe even further than that. Background The 30 August summit which chose Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini to replace respectively Council President Herman Van Rompuy and EU foreign Affairs chief Catherine Ashton later this year. The next step is that within one week, Commission President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to announce the full list of Commissioners. Reportedly so far only Belgium, which is struggling to form a government, hasn’t submitted a name. The second step is that Juncker will present a second list, also containing the Commissioners’ attributions. Currently member states are putting pressure on him to obtain “important” portfolios for their commissioners.

Timeline 9 or 10 Sept. (expected): Junker to announce members and portfolios of the next Commission 1 Nov.: Mogherini to take on the role as the EU's High Representative. 1 Dec.: Tusk to take on the role as Council President. Krzysztof Kokoszczy?ski Poland | Country report | Freedom in the World | 2008 Freedom in the World 1 Trend Arrow: Poland received an upward trend arrow due to improvements in freedom of expression and association following the October electoral victory of the Civic Platform party and leader Donald Tusk’s appointment as prime minister. Overview: Political turmoil surrounding the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party continued in 2007 until the parliament voted to dissolve, prompting elections in October. The center-right opposition party Civic Platform won the polls, and its leader, Donald Tusk, became the new prime minster. Tusk is considered more modern and EU-oriented, and was widely welcomed by the media. A loosening of restrictions was immediately apparent, including an undisturbed gay rights demonstration and a more relaxed press atmosphere.

After being destroyed by its powerful neighbors in a series of 18th-century partitions, Poland enjoyed a window of independence from 1918 to 1939, only to be invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union at the opening of World War II. The country then endured decades as a Soviet satellite state until 1989, when the Solidarity trade union movement forced the government to accept democratic elections. Fundamental democratic and free-market reforms were introduced during the 1989–91 period. Later changes came as Poland prepared its bid for membership in the European Union (EU). Political parties with a background in Solidarity held power from 1989 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2001. In 1995, former communist Alexander Kwasniewski replaced Solidarity’s Lech Walesa as president and was subsequently reelected by a large margin in 2000. In September 2001, voters handed the Solidarity government of Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek a decisive defeat in parliamentary elections, and Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) leader Leszek Miller became the new prime minister.

The Solidarity movement and the right-leaning Freedom Union (UW) failed to secure a single seat. On May 1, 2004, Poland joined the EU along with nine other mostly former communist Central and Eastern Europe countries. Poland has since been a somewhat awkward EU member, fighting aggressively over its share of the EU’s budget and voting privileges. Law and Justice (PiS), a conservative party with strong anticommunist roots headed by identical twin brothers Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, won a stunning victory in the September 2005 elections. Although Jaroslaw was the formal party leader, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz was named prime minister–designate to avoid damaging Lech Kaczynski’s presidential bid. He duly won the presidential contest in October, and PiS eventually formed a fragile majority coalition with the leftist-populist, agrarian Self-Defense Party (Samoobrona) and the socially conservative, Catholic-oriented League of Polish Families (LPR). Marcinkiewicz gained popularity for running a capable, modest government, but in July 2006 he was replaced by Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

The ruling coalition broke apart in September 2006, only to reform in a weakened state the following month. The Kaczynskis pressed ahead with their increasingly unpopular policies in 2007, including “lustration” legislation that took effect in March. The law required as many as 700,000 citizens in positions of authority—such as civil servants, journalists, and academics—to declare in writing whether they had cooperated with the communist-era secret service. Refusal to comply would result in a 10-year ban from public office. However, the Constitutional Tribunal struck down many of the law’s provisions in May. The paranoid political atmosphere was worsened by the initial publication in September by the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) of the names of public figures who had spied for or were spied upon by the former regime. Political instability continued over the summer as the prime minister fired a number of senior officials, including the deputy prime minister and agriculture minister, Self-Defense Party leader Andrzej Lepper. The dismissals led to the collapse of the governing coalition, and on September 7 the Sejm (lower house of parliament) voted to dissolve itself, triggering national elections on October 21.

Some 55 percent of eligible voters turned out for the polls, the highest rate since the fall of communism, and handed victory to the center-right Civic Platform (PO) party. The PO, advocating business-friendly and pro-EU policies, won 209 seats in the Sejm, followed by PiS with 166, the Left and Democrats (LiD) coalition with 53, and the Polish People’s Party (PSL) with 31. The PO and PSL formed a coalition government in November, with PO leader Donald Tusk as prime minister. Given the outgoing PiS government’s acrimonious relations with the EU, most EU leaders applauded Tusk’s election. Political Rights and Civil Liberties: Poland is an electoral democracy. Voters elect the president for five-year terms and members of the bicameral National Assembly for four-year terms. The president’s appointment of the prime minister is subject to confirmation by the 460-seat Sejm, the National Assembly’s lower house. The prime minister is responsible for most government policy, but the president also has an important role, especially in foreign relations. The 100-member Senate, the upper house, can delay and amend legislation but has few other powers.

The conservative PiS and the center-right PO have become the two most important political parties, while smaller left-leaning parties, including the SLD, have joined forces in the LiD coalition. PiS’s former coalition partners, Self-Defense and the LPR, failed to win representation in the October 2007 legislative elections. The PiS government elected in 2005 made anticorruption efforts a priority, and PiS itself has generally been seen as less graft-prone than its predecessors in government. However, that reputation was tainted by accusations that it used job offers to convince other parties’ members to defect to PiS. Those in power have also been criticized for using communist-era intelligence files to discredit political enemies. Poland was ranked 61 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index. The 1997 constitution guarantees freedom of expression and forbids censorship. However, the country’s libel law treats slander as a criminal offense. Infringements on media freedom include gag orders and arbitrary judicial decisions concerning investigations of individuals affiliated with parties in power.

LPR officials in June 2007 filed a lawsuit against former Spanish lawmaker Pilar Rahola, accusing her of criminal defamation of the Polish nation in an article for the Spanish daily El Pais. Separately, in August, the recently fired interior minister reported that intelligence services had tapped the telephones of journalists who were critical of the government. Tusk’s election, however, resulted in the perception that the media will be freer than under the previous government. Poland’s print media are diverse and for the most part privately owned. The state-owned television and radio broadcaster is dominant but faces growing competition from private Polish and foreign outlets. The government does not restrict internet access. The state respects freedom of religion. Religious groups are not required to register but receive tax benefits if they do. Roman Catholic priest Tadeusz Rydzyk, a PiS supporter and head of a media group that includes the ultraconservative Radio Maryja, was criticized in 2007 for making anti-Semitic remarks. Radio Maryja, although owned by a private Catholic group, enjoys fee exemptions and public-broadcaster status.

Academic freedom is generally respected, though one rarely invoked law threatens anyone who “publicly insults or humiliates a constitutional institution” with a fine or up to two years’ imprisonment. Polish citizens can petition the government, assemble legally, organize professional and other associations, and engage in collective bargaining. Public demonstrations require permits from local authorities. A demonstration by gay rights activists took place in November without incident, in contrast to previous years. Poland has a robust labor movement, but groups including the self-employed and those working under individual contracts are barred from joining a union. Union pluralism is recognized with the exception of law enforcement personnel, who mounted a successful informal strike in 2007. Labor leaders have complained of harassment by employers. Poland has an independent judiciary, but courts are notorious for delays in administering cases. State prosecutors have proceeded slowly on corruption investigations, contributing to concerns that they are subject to considerable political pressure. A November 2007 report by the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute on the status of rule of law in Poland found that several recently passed and proposed legislative amendments introduced by the PiS during the year would threaten the judiciary, the legal profession, and prosecutors.

They included fee-capping measures for advocates and legal advisors, requirements for cases to be considered in the order in which they are received, and a provision giving the justice minister the ability to reassign judges to different courts or locations against their will. The new government has promised its own judicial reforms and nothing else was enacted by year’s end. Prison conditions are fairly poor by European standards, and pretrial detention periods can be lengthy. Ethnic minorities generally enjoy generous protections and rights under Polish law, including funding for bilingual education and publications and privileged representation in parliament; their political parties are not subject to a minimum vote threshold of 5 percent to achieve representation. Some groups, particularly the Roma, suffer discrimination in employment and housing, racially motivated insults, and occasional attacks. Poland’s homosexual community is active, but faces discrimination. A March 2007 proposal by the Ministry of Education would have prohibited the promotion of homosexuality in schools, with those found guilty facing fines or imprisonment. The measure was not enacted. Women have made inroads in the professional sphere and are employed in a wide variety of occupations. A number of women hold high positions in government and the private sector. However, domestic violence against women is a problem.

Abortion is illegal unless the health of the mother is at risk, the pregnancy results from rape or incest, or the fetus is irreparably damaged, and the law is strictly enforced. As in several other formerly communist countries in the region, trafficking in women and girls for the purpose of prostitution remains a problem.

Question: Donald Tusk replaced a twin to become prime minister of which country?
Answer: Poland