
Take a look at our newest merchandise
Key occasions
Trzaskowski’s lead in Poland marginally widens in late ballot
We’ve simply received the late ballot outcomes from Poland, reported to be a mixture of exit ballot and first outcomes from 50% of polling stations.
There are just some minor modifications there with Trzaskowski’s lead growing to 2pp (from 1.7pp), however, for the document, right here it’s – with the 2 candidates in daring going by means of to the run-off.
Rafał Trzaskowski 31.1% (+0.3)
Karol Nawrocki 29.1% (-)
Sławomir Mentzen 14.8% (-0.6)
Grzegorz Braun 6.3% (+0.1)
Adrian Zandberg 5.2% (-)
Szymon Hołownia 4.9% (+0.1)
Magdalena Biejat 4.1% (-)
Others 4.5%
First run-off ballot present it is ‘all to play for’ in Poland
Jakub Krupa
Talking after the exit ballot was introduced in Poland earlier tonight, centrist Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski sought to mobilise his voters as he warned that his lead over the radical-right rival, Karol Nawrocki, was “razor-thin”.
He’s not mistaken.
The primary ballot performed after at this time’s vote, by Opinia24 for TVN24 and TVN24+, exhibits that Trzaskowski leads Nawrocki by simply 2 share factors, 46% to 44%, in relation to voting intention forward of the runoff on 1 June.
6% declined to reply the query, and 4% stated they’re but to determine.
It’s all to play for in Poland.
European leaders congratulate Dan for profitable Romanian election

Jakub Krupa
European capitals are calling it for Nicușor Dan in Romania as he’s now getting first official congratulations from a number of fellow European leaders, together with France’s Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Poland’s Donald Tusk and the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen.
Macron stated he spoke with Dan on the telephone, and made a swipe at Simion by saying that “regardless of quite a few makes an attempt at manipulation, Romanians selected democracy, the rule of legislation and the European Union”.
Zelenskyy referred to as Dan’s win “historic” and stated it was vital for Ukraine “to have Romania as a dependable associate [a]nd we’re assured we are going to”.
Tusk stated merely “lengthy stay free Romania”, whereas von der Leyen struck the identical tone as Macron, saying that Romanians “have chosen the promise of an open, affluent Romania in a powerful Europe”.
Lastly, the president of neighbouring Moldova, Maia Sandu, can be clearly delighted with the end result.
She stated:
Congratulations, expensive @NicusorDanRO on being elected President of Romania!
Moldova and Romania stand collectively, supporting each other and dealing facet by facet for a peaceable, democratic, and European future for all our residents.
‘Shut race for second place’ in Portugal
Sam Jones
Over in Portugal, the official outcomes web page exhibits simply how shut the race for second place is.
The socialists have simply leapfrogged Chega to maneuver into the second spot, with 1,118,947 votes and 23.2% of the vote to the far-right occasion’s 1,111,856 votes and 22.9%.
The AD is nicely forward with 1,597, 936 votes and 33% of the vote.
Trzaskowski will look to mobilise left, centrist voters forward of second spherical – snap evaluation

Jakub Krupa
Understandably, our preliminary response targeted on the overperforming proper in Poland, as an exit ballot has the radical-right candidate Sławomir Mentzen at 15.4% in third, and the far-right Grzegorz Braun at 6.2% in fourth.
However it’s nonetheless value noting that there’s so much of votes to be received within the centre and the left, too – and the first-round winner Trzaskowski will certainly wish to have a look at this within the subsequent few days.
Arduous-left Adrian Zandberg is fifth within the exit ballot, simply behind Braun, at 5.2%.
Equally to Mentzen’s, his voters are very disillusioned with each predominant events, so it might show to be troublesome to get them on facet. The caveat on shifting electorates like Lego bricks made by Dr Stanley earlier (22:36) applies right here too, and it’s troublesome to determine how, if in any respect, they may vote within the second spherical.
By the best way, it’s clearly one of many greatest tales of the night time that Mentzen and Zandberg – robust anti-establishment voices brazenly contesting what they describe because the duopoly of the 2 predominant events which have dominated Poland since 2005 – might nicely find yourself with greater than 20% of the mixed vote share (21.6%, in keeping with the exit ballot).
To not say “I informed you so”, however sort of, sure, I instructed that may very well be the case in my piece earlier this week after I spoke to those two teams at their rallies in Toruń and Warsaw.
It’s not unattainable to suppose they each could also be tempted to not endorse anybody to maintain positioning themselves in opposition to the primary two events earlier than the 2027 parliamentary election.
Proper, focus!
For those who look previous Zandberg, the exit polls give the subsequent two spots to candidates from the governing coalition, the centrist Sejm speaker Szymon Hołownia (4.8%, a really brutal collapse while you evaluate this together with his 13.9% within the final presidential elections in 2020) and the New Left’s Senate deputy speaker Magdalena Biejat (4.1%).
Hołownia has already declared his assist for Trzaskowski within the runoff, however Biejat has not (but?).
Earlier than she does that, if in any respect, she is going to most likely press the Warsaw mayor to strengthen commitments on social points, together with abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, which performed a giant function in her marketing campaign.
After I spoke together with her on Friday night time, simply minutes earlier than her ultimate rally in Warsaw, she insisted the marketing campaign confirmed “that there’s a house for the left on this bizarre, deeply polarised world”.
I do know we’re not meant so as to add numbers like that (22:36), however theoretically the exit ballot exhibits the mixed assist for numerous left candidates on 10%, their finest end result since 2015.
It might not really feel like a lot, however given how extremely shut this race is, these voters might play a extremely vital function within the second spherical.
Biejat informed me on Friday that what made her stand other than different candidates was that she was not taking part in any video games or hiding her views, however as a substitute making them plainly clear, no matter the price.
It will likely be attention-grabbing to see how she, too, responds to Trzaskowski’s makes an attempt to court docket her voters over the subsequent two weeks.
Centrist Warsaw mayor narrowly forward in Polish presidential race – first information report
Jakub Krupa in Warsaw and Ashifa Kassam
The professional-European centrist Rafał Trzaskowski and historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the populist proper, have every secured about 30% of the vote in a nail-bitingly shut first spherical of Poland’s presidential election.
The vote units the stage for a runoff spherical on 1 June that can drive voters to decide on between starkly totally different visions of the nation’s future.
An exit ballot by the Ipsos institute, launched as voting closed on Sunday, instructed Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw and candidate from the prime minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition, had claimed 30.8% of the vote within the first spherical. Trailing him was Nawrocki, who has been endorsed by the Regulation and Justice occasion (PiS), with 29.1% of the vote.
The exit ballot, nonetheless, factors to a first-round end result that was nearer than anticipated between the frontrunners, yielding a end result that’s prone to make Trzaskowski and Tusk nervous.
The outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, is a detailed ally of the earlier PiS authorities and a supporter of Donald Trump. He opposed the modifications pursued by the brand new Tusk-led administration and blocked some choices, together with ambassadorial nominations.
A potential opposition win would lengthen the present impasse, prompting years of political instability.
Dan ‘seems to have unassailable lead’ over Simion in Romania – snap evaluation

Jon Henley
With nearly 98% of votes counted, the centrist unbiased mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, seems to have an unassailable lead in Romania’s presidential election with 54.25% of the vote in opposition to the 45.75% of his far-right rival, George Simion.
Extra exactly, Dan has a lead of about 830,000 votes – and rising.
Though solely 65% of votes within the diaspora have been counted and Simion leads there by about 55% to 45%, that hole appears, if something, to be widening. It seems unattainable for Simion to come back again from right here.
Nevertheless, the ultranationalist has but to concede, and has certainly claimed victory.
“We’re the clear winners of those elections,” he stated. “We declare victory within the identify of the Romanian individuals.” Simion claimed he was truly 400,000 votes forward of Dan.
Simion promised a parallel depend by his AUR occasion activists would “make sure the identification of any potential fraud”, though he acknowledged he had not up to now seen any. It’s unclear what steps he might take to contest the outcomes.
Sergiu Misciou, a political scientist at Babes-Bolyai College, informed Reuters some protests by Simion supporters couldn’t be dominated out within the coming days, however added that if the outcomes had been a number of share factors aside, “it’s onerous to imagine we might be capable of problem them”.
Exit polls present radical proper overperforming in Poland, however ‘electorates are usually not Lego blocks’ – snap evaluation

Jakub Krupa
I’ve requested Dr Ben Stanley, a political scientist at SWPS College in Warsaw, for his first ideas on the Polish exit polls (21:02).
Right here is his take:
“If the exit polls replicate the result, then the novel proper candidates could have overperformed relative to their pre-election polling (21:07), whereas the centrist and left-wing candidates could have underperformed.
However with this many candidates and a pair of pp. margins of error, there may be nonetheless scope for the image to vary both approach.
It’s additionally value noting that candidate electorates are usually not Lego blocks – those that are stacking them to undertaking second spherical outcomes are overlooking substantial heterogeneity.
Mentzen’s supporters, for instance, can’t be counted upon to swing absolutely behind Nawrocki, nor can Trzaskowski merely anticipate to inherit the votes of the left.”
Rival marches deliberate week earlier than second spherical in Poland

Jakub Krupa
For those who had been contemplating taking a relaxed metropolis break in Warsaw subsequent Sunday, 25 Could, it’s possible you’ll wish to suppose once more.
Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO) occasion has lengthy marketed plans for an enormous marketing campaign march to be held within the capital on that day in a bid to mobilise centrist, liberal and left-wing voters for Rafał Trzaskowski forward of the second spherical.
However in his speech after the exit polls had been printed, radical-right opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki introduced he would lead a rival march of conservatives, too.
Centre-right occasion wins, however falls in need of majority in Portugal with document far-right beneficial properties – first information report
Sam Jones
Right here is Sam Jones’s first tackle the occasions of the night time up to now:
The centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD), led by Portugal’s caretaker prime minister, Luís Montenegro, seems set to win the nation’s third snap election in three years however to once more fall nicely in need of a majority, whereas the far-right Chega occasion might take a document 20% of the vote.
Three polls, printed at 8pm native time by the three predominant tv channels – SIC, RTP and TVI – put the AD on between 29% and 35.1%, with the Socialist occasion (PS) and Chega vying for second place on 19.4% to 26% and 19.5% to 25.5%, respectively.
If correct, the polls level to an identical AD displaying to the earlier common election in March 2024, when the alliance received 28.8% of the vote.
However the surveys present a far nearer race between the PS and a seemingly resurgent Chega. Final time, the socialists received 28% of the vote, whereas Chega took 18.1% – dramatically up from the 7.2% it received within the 2022 election.
Bucharest mayor Dan on track to win Romanian presidency – first information report

Jon Henley
Right here is Jon Henley’s first story on the Romanian vote:
The centrist mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, is on observe to win Romania’s pivotal presidential election with 85% of votes counted, in keeping with official figures displaying the pro-European unbiased six factors away from his far-right rival, George Simion.
The figures from Romania’s central election authority confirmed Dan, who had solid the second spherical vote as a battle between “a pro-western and an anti-western Romania”, on 53.2%, whereas George Simion, a self-described Trump admirer, had 46.8%.
The capital’s two-term mayor, who made his identify combating corrupt property builders, stated voters looking for “profound change, functioning state establishments, much less corruption, a affluent financial system and a society of dialogue, not hate, have received”.
Simion, nonetheless, disputed the polls. He stated: “We’re the clear winners of those elections. We declare victory within the identify of the Romanian individuals.” Simion promised a parallel vote depend would “make sure the identification of any potential fraud”.
Analysts have described the elections as a very powerful within the nation’s post-communist historical past, with important implications for the nation’s strategic orientation and financial prospects in addition to for European Union unity.
Far-right Chega spinning Portugal end result as ‘loss of life of longstanding bipartisan system’
Sam Jones
The votes in Portugal are nonetheless being counted, however far-right Chega is already spinning the election as proof of the loss of life of Portugal’s longstanding bipartisan system.
“We nonetheless don’t know if we are going to are available in second or third place. What we do know is that the system is already shaking,” stated the Chega MP Pedro Pinto.
He added: “Chega has definitively damaged the bipartisan system in Portugal and represents the good different for presidency in Portugal. This can be a day that can mark historical past.”