Homophobic Polish politician Jaroslaw Kaczynski loses presidential election
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the homophobic right-wing Polish politician, has lost a presidential election.
The election was called after the death of his twin, the late president Lech Kaczynski, in a plane crash in April.
According to exit polls, interim president Bronislaw Komorowski will take office with 52.63 per cent of the vote, while Mr Kaczynski, chair of the Polish Law and Justice Party, won 47.37 per cent.
Both Kaczynski brothers have made a number of offensive homophobic remarks over the years, with Jaroslow saying: “The affirmation of homosexuality will lead to the downfall of civilisation.”
Lech had previously been the Mayor of Warsaw and reached international notoriety for repeatedly banning gay pride marches from taking place in the city.
Jaroslaw, a former Polish prime minister who lost his post in 2007, was expected to continue his brother’s policies if he won the presidency.
Meanwhile, Mr Komorrowski, of the ruling Civic Platform party, has more centrist and liberal views.
The death of Lech Kaczynski and the failure of his brother to replace him mean the Civic Platform party will no longer find its liberal initiatives blocked by presidential veto.
Last year, the UK Conservative Party was criticised for joining a grouping in the European parliament with the Kaczynskis’ Law and Justice Party.
Prime minister David Cameron responded that the Polish party was on a “journey” towards better understanding of LGBT issues.
He told PinkNews.co.uk in April: “I would say there are partners of the Liberal Democrats who refer to homosexuality as a plague. How many times have you read that in the Guardian? There are partners of Labour that were collaborators with the communist regime in Poland that locked people up and was responsible for appalling human rights abuses.
“Our point is that it is good to have a new group that is against a federal Europe, that wants free trade, co-operation and progress in Europe.
“And yes, some countries, particularly some of the Catholic countries, do have very conservative social views. They are on a journey in respect of that and it is a journey we can help them with.”
