Poles have voted in favour of change and a move to the right, with exit polls Sunday showing the conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party winning parliamentary elections with 39.1 per cent of votes, according to dpa. If the polls are confirmed by official results, then PiS can govern alone. "This victory is to the credit of all of you," PiS prime ministerial candidate Beata Szydlo told cheering supporters. Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz conceded defeat after her centrist Civic Platform was in second place with only 23.4 per cent of votes, according to the exit polls. But Kopacz sounded almost defiant, pointing to the successes of eight years of governance by Civic Platform, especially economic growth and a decrease in unemployment. This is the state in which we leave Poland to those who have won today, Kopacz said. For an absolute majority, PiS needed 231 seats in the Sejm or lower house of parliament. They are forecast to get 242 seats, which will bring them to power for the first time since 2007. "The victory of a (single) party is unusual in Polish democracy," said the powerful party leader of PiS, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. The election campaign was dominated by economic and social issues, as well as the refugee crisis in Europe. During a television debate last week, Szydlo presented a folder containing legislative initiatives for the first 100 days of her government. Her party promised to give more money to families and pensioners, launch a job creation programme for young people and lower the retirement age. The Civic Platform-led government had raised it to 67. Civic Platform made raising the minimum wage a cornerstone of its campaign. Kopacz sharply criticized the opposition's plans, and claimed they will seriously damage the country's finances. Kopacz's campaign failed to ignite much voter interest in recent weeks, in contrast to Szydlo, who showed she knows how to work the crowds. When Szydlo became the conservative party's candidate earlier this year, she chose a James Bond-like approach to introduce herself to fellow party members at a convention to launch the campaign. "My name is Szydlo, Beata Szydlo," she said. "I have opinions of my own." Those words were directed towards political opponents who speculated Szydlo was only being put forward as an appealing figure to front the party, while party chairman Kaczynski pulled the strings. The conservative party has taken a tough stance on the wave of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe, warning that the newcomers pose a threat to security and could undermine the social fabric of Poland. Although softer in policy and tone on the subject of migrants, Kopacz's government is opposed to binding EU refugee quotas. Kopacz succeeded Donald Tusk as prime minister one year ago when he was named president of the European Council. She has struggled to fight the impression among some that she was Tusk's choice because he hoped to maintain long-distance control on government affairs. Controversies over social issues such as gay rights and artificial insemination have also played a role in the growing frustration with her government. Additionally, increasing pressure from the European Union on climate change reform has proven hard to swallow for many voters in Poland, one of the biggest coal-mining countries in Europe. Four polls published late last week placed support for PiS between 32 per cent and 40 per cent, while Civic Platform trailed with 22 per cent to 28 per cent of respondents.
