Ciao, Kaczynski

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party under its leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the prime minister, on Sunday night admitted defeat in the country’s hard-fought parliamentary elections, putting an end to two turbulent years in government, write Jan Cienski and Stefan Wagstyl in Warsaw for the Financial Times

Civic Platform, Poland’s main opposition party, claimed victory after it emerged as the biggest single party and prepared to form the next government under its leader, Donald Tusk.

PiS narrowly won elections two years ago on a programme of fighting corruption, exposing communist-era collaborators, and helping those who felt left out by reforms that transformed Poland into a capitalist economy 18 years ago.

But once in power, Mr Kaczynski alienated voters with his abrasive political style, fell out with almost all potential coalition partners and failed to win the confidence of business.

During the campaign, Mr Tusk promised to make life easier for business by slashing red tape, reforming public finances, and energetically privatising most of the companies still controlled by the state. He also strongly criticised Mr Kaczynski’s foreign policy.

The official vote count is expected to be released Monday orTuesday.

The outcome was a dramatic reversal for Mr Kaczynski and his twin brother President Lech Kaczynski, who have ruled Poland since 2005, polarising politics and repeatedly running into conflicts with Poland’s European Union partners.