Democracy Digest: Poland Resists Calls to Delay Election

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"The presidential elections should take place at the planned time, because a lot of unexpected circumstances can appear in the long term, for example the return of the coronavirus this autumn," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday. 

But many are wondering whether calling people to vote en masse is wise. Other countries have cancelled upcoming polls.

President Andrzej Duda and his political camp, the governing Law and Justice party (PiS), have little incentive to postpone the vote. Since the pandemic hit Poland, Duda's numbers have improved, with recent polls showing he could win reelection in the first round. 

Opposition parties have cried foul, saying PiS is willing to sacrifice the health of Poles for political gain. But some commentators have noted that if their concerns are serious, opposition candidates could all simply pull out of the election, leaving Duda on his own and meaning the vote could not take place. 

Supporting the economy

Like other governments around the world, Warsaw has unveiled a set of measures to protect the economy. Prime Minister Morawiecki says the impact of the pandemic could be worse than that of the 2008 global financial crisis. 

The government's stimulus package announced on Wednesday is worth 46 billion euros. It is designed to help companies keep paying salaries and ensure that firms have access to liquidity. It also relaxes deadlines for tax payments. 

Poland's Monetary Policy Council said on Tuesday it would lower the reference interest rate of the Polish National...