Poland’s Civic Platform Gets Small Boost From Tusk Comeback

(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s Civic Platform retook its lead as the country’s most popular opposition party after former European Council President Donald Tusk returned as its leader over the weekend, two opinion polls showed on Wednesday.

The bump in popularity is still not large enough for Civic Platform to overtake the nationalist ruling Law & Justice Party, but it could give Tusk the upper hand in trying to unite the opposition ahead of parliamentary elections that are slated to take place by 2023.

Civic Platform had 18.6% in a July 5 poll from United Survey for RMF FM and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, edging out the Poland 2050 movement of TV personality Szymon Holownia for the first time since February. The three parties in the Law & Justice-led ruling coalition, known as the United Right, maintained their lead with 33% support.

A separate July 2-5 poll commissioned by RMF FM put United Right at 29%, followed by Civic Platform at 23% and Poland 2050 at 17%.

Tusk returned to domestic politics after seven years in Brussels, calling the ruling party “evil,” lambasting them for alleged nepotism and denouncing their euroskeptic policies as a gift for Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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