Liberal tides, populist currents: Elections in Poland and Romania

This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Piotr Buras, head of ECFR’s Warsaw office, for an emergency room episode dissecting Sunday’s pivotal elections in Poland and Romania. Their discussion, which was recorded after high-stakes voting had taken place across Portugal, Poland and Romania, zooms in on some surprising outcomes.

Romania’s liberal candidate, Dan Barna, defied polls to defeat far-right contender George Simion, while Poland’s presidential race heads to a tight runoff between liberal Rafal Trzaskowski and right-wing Karol Nawrocki. With Poland’s right-wing bloc commanding 54% in the first round, the stakes are high for Europe’s liberal project. Can Poland replicate Romania’s liberal surge? Or will populism reshape the region’s trajectory?

This podcast was recorded on May 19.

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