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Polish opposition chooses centrist to challenge Duda

by editor

Poland’s biggest opposition party nominated a seasoned moderate to take on Andrzej Duda in a May presidential election.

The center-right Civic Platform chose Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, deputy parliament speaker, as its nominee at a national conference on Saturday.

“Poles will no longer be ashamed of the president,” Kidawa-Błońska said in a speech after her nomination. She promised victory against Duda, an independent aligned with the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS). He’s widely expected to run for re-election after PiS reaffirmed its support last month.

Kidawa-Błońska is the first woman in Polish history to have a serious shot at the presidency, according to Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza. However, she faces an uphill battle against Duda. A November poll pegged the incumbent’s support at 46 percent, compared to 23 percent for Kidawa-Błońska, Reuters reported.

She also ran as Civic Platform’s candidate for prime minister in October’s parliament election. While that race saw PiS weakened, it was also a disappointment for Civic Platform, which failed to unite the opposition.

Civic Platform was co-founded by former European Council President Donald Tusk, who announced last month that he would not seek the Polish presidency.

Also on Saturday, Władysław Kosiniak–Kamysz of the agrarian Polish People’s Party formally announced that he would run for the top office, Polish Radio reported.

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