His team is highlighting security, or, more precisely, the threat of Russian aggression, as the big theme.With parties sympathetic to Russia set to make gains elsewhere, including in central Europe, Tusk’s Civic Coalition is stressing that the EU needs to stand firm and united against the danger from Moscow.He’s urging the Polish people to get out and vote, to protect themselves.The message taps into real concerns among the country’s electorate, as many Poles are instinctively wary of their giant neighbour for reasons both of history and geography.For more than 230km (142 miles), northern Poland butts up against Kaliningrad, the heavily militarised Russian exclave.
It’s intended to make sure "the enemy" knows to "stay away" from Poland, the prime minister announced.It’s to be coordinated with Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, three Baltic states with their own reasons to be wary of Russia.In smaller Slovakia to the south, and in Hungary, politicians talk of the need for "compromise" with Moscow.
That translates as concessions from Kyiv.They issue statements that are filled with Kremlin talking points.But Poland has remained firmly convinced of the risk from Vladimir Putin’s Russia, should Ukraine be allowed to lose this war.For this election, as Donald Tusk’s team has hijacked the security agenda, the main opposition Law and Justice party, PiS, has focused elsewhere.It’s been busy slamming the EU’s migration deal and slurring the Green Deal against carbon emissions, a policy the party fully backed whilst in power.But Poland was already investing heavily in defence under a PiS government, because of the Russia threat.
""One of the factors behind the creation of this project is the situation on our eastern border, and the state’s response to the real threat," Captain Dominik Pijarski of the 6th Mazovian Brigade confirmed.
"Only fools are not afraid," the soldier replied, before adding: "I believe that the entire nation has learned the appropriate lessons from what is happening … and is preparing to be ready at the highest level, in the face of a real threat.
"But wariness of Russia doesn’t always translate into unconditional support for Ukraine.A short drive out of Warsaw leads deep into farming country and small villages marked by towering crucifixes and Catholic shrines.Lately, some of the fruit farmers here have left their fields to protest both on the Ukraine border and in central Warsaw.They’re upset at the EU Green Deal which will increase their production costs.But they’re also worried by the competition from Ukrainian farmers: exporting certain goods tariff-free as a form of support to the war-blasted economy.
The original article contains 976 words, the summary contains 418 words. Saved 57%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!