Both Polish candidates good for Azerbaijan: Polish expert

/By AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

As second round of presidential elections will take place in Poland in less than a fortnight - the results of the polls have been awaited with much anticipation.

The run-off will see conservative challenger Andrzej Duda facing incumbent President Bronislaw Komorowski on May 24.

Bartosz Mendyk, a Polish expert and journalist, said that Duda, a candidate from the conservative party Law and Justice, has been unexpectedly leading in the polls, leaving behind even Komorowski, a strong favorite. It is important to note that the lead is not groundbreaking.

Duda won 34.7 percent of the vote to outstrip his rival with 33.7 percent of the vote.

Mendyk described the campaign as "rather tedious", which is why it was criticized by both the public and media. He tied the situation with the good results the incumbent president had in the initial public survey.

For instance, the earliest surveys conducted a few months ago showed that Komorowski would receive about 60 percent of the vote, which meant his victory in the first round.

“These good results have frightened the leaders of other parties so much that they even withdrew. They nominated young candidates, mostly without experience, as not to be ashamed in case of failure,” Mendyk said.

With regards to the effects the results of the run-off will bear on the bilateral relations in between Poland and Azerbaijan, Mendyk noted that both candidates are interested in such relations.

The eastern policy, in general, is very important for the Polish people, he noted, but that should be viewed in the context of the crisis in Ukraine and the Polish-Russian relations.

"It is necessary to describe how this or that candidate can influence the Polish-Azerbaijani relations based on the candidate's previous performances or that of his party," he added.

Komorowski represents the Civic Platform party, which has run the country since 2007.

Before, he acted as defense minister and parliamentary speaker of Poland.

Komorowski's failure in the first round was quite unexpected as he is an experienced politician. Analysts explained that his weakly organized election campaign resulted in such a decrease of votes.

"Komorowski is a man who understands the role of Azerbaijan in the world. In 2011, he had a six-day tour of the South Caucasus, during which he visited Baku. Then, he met with President Ilham Aliyev in 2014 at the summit of the "Eastern Partnership" in Prague, where he invited the Azerbaijani leader to visit his country. Komorowski commends Azerbaijan, considering that it is the country with growing economy and military power," Mendyk stressed.

So, the Poland-Azerbaijan ties will see steady growth in case he succeeds in rising to power in the next tenure, “There will hardly be a big revolution in relations, but we may witness gradual progressive work, as well as new economic projects,” Mendyk noted.

Andrzej Duda is not a popular candidate for now, he is actually quite an unknown member of the European Parliament, the expert added. He was well known among political scientists, but unknown to the public.

"Duda does not have any statement on the Azerbaijani direction of the Polish policy. It is possible to make forecasts, however, based on the policy pursued at the time by one of the leaders of the Law and Justice Party - late President Lech Kaczynski.

“He was the man who raised the relations with Azerbaijan to an entirely new level. Kaczynski was concentrated on having good relations with both Georgia and Azerbaijan. For him, the issue of bilateral relations has a strategic character not only in terms of energy but also from an economic and cultural standpoint," said Mendyk.

Based on the aforesaid, the Polish expert is sure that Duda will continue the policies of his mentor.

The election can be won by the man whose party, being in power, has put forward many arguments in favor of a strategic partnership with Azerbaijan, Mendyk said.

And his rival who comes as second, is just a friend of Azerbaijan, who appreciates the country and who wants to realize projects with it.

"In both cases, I think that Azerbaijan should get ready for further development of cooperation. From the point of view of the Polish-Azerbaijani relations, the second round of elections in Poland may result in good or very good," the expert summarized.

Komorowski took office five years ago after his predecessor, Lech Kaczynski, died in a tragic jet crash. The elections in the country were closely watched across Europe, as Poland is the largest and most vigorous economy in Eastern Europe, playing a larger role in continental affairs.