
Right-wing Nawrocki wins Polish presidential poll by narrow margin
In Poland, it was the turn of the conservative Karol Nawrocki who edged past his liberal rival, Rafal Trzaskowski, by a narrow margin. Nawrocki got 50.82 per cent of the vote. But the Euro-sceptics were happy. George Simion, who was the runner-up in the Romanian election, wrote on X, 'Poland WON'. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Nawrocki's win a 'fantastic victory'. The political divisions are sharp across the national boundaries in Europe. Nawrocki is opposed to refugees, and in Poland the refugees are from Ukraine.
Nawrocki will inevitably be at loggerheads with Prime Minister Donald Tusk's liberal Civic Coalition. Tusk has been trying to reverse the previous conservative government's judicial reforms which raised objections from the European Constitutional Court. It said the process of the appointment of judges does not ensure impartiality of the judges.
The conservatives think it is interference from Europe. Nawrocki has already declared that he intends to protect Poland's sovereignty and support laws that favour the Polish. As president, Nawrocki has but little leeway in thwarting the liberal government. The presidential veto can be overturned by a specific majority rule of parliament.
But Prime Minister Tusk does not command the required majority in parliament. It is because of the shortfall in the parliamentary numbers, that Nawrocki's predecessor, another conservative, Andrzej Duda, was able to block the reformist legislation of Prime Minister Tusk.
The divisions seem to be almost evenly balanced, with conservatives accounting for half the electorate, and the liberals comprising the other half. A 32-year-old IT specialist, Patryk Marek, summed it up well: 'Everything was on a knife edge. Feelings are for sure mixed for this moment. But how small this margin was, it tells us how divided we are almost in half as voters.'
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she believed EU's cooperation with Poland will continue. She is a conservative herself but a nuanced one, and quite opposed to the right-wing nationalism dominating European politics.
Krzysztof Izdebski, director of think-tank Batory Foundation commented, 'Trump will have more to say in Polish politics.' It is a reference to the fact that European nationalists and right-wingers are inspired by US President Donald Trump's worldview and his electoral success.
European conservatives are indeed on the rise and riding a success wave in many countries in France, in Italy, Germany, and in many of the former Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe. The success of the right-wing parties is mainly due to the economic crunch that most European countries are witnessing, where lack of growth is affecting the job market and it is increasing the frustration of the people.
The right-wing politicians are directing this frustration and anger on to the immigrants. Turning away the immigrants will not put Europe back on the path of economic growth. And the right-wing governments and leaders have no easy answers or plans to boost economic growth.
It is the same problem that Trump is facing in America. With his tariff wars and his hostility towards immigrants, he is not able to turn around the American economy. And that is the reason that many of the Americans who had voted for Trump are disappointed with him. The same challenge awaits right-wing governments in Europe as well.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
Stocks drop worldwide as investors brace for crucial week
LONDON/TOKYO - Investors cashed out of highly valued global stocks on Friday and the dollar headed for its biggest weekly drop in a month ahead of a crucial week for markets that includes Donald Trump's tariff deadline and key central bank meetings. MSCI's global equity index retreated from an all-time high and was 0.2% lower in early European trading while Japan's Topix index ended the day 0.9% lower after rising to a record on Thursday. Europe's STOXX 600 share index also fell 0.5% in early trade. Ahead of the August 1 deadline for U.S. trade deals with Europe and China, stock markets have been buoyed up by firm U.S. economic data and framed the risk of tariffs hitting growth as a reason to expect Federal Reserve rate cuts. "Higher (U.S.) inflation will, in time, result in weaker demand and weaker investment," UBS Wealth Management economist Dean Turner said. Van Luu, head of solutions strategy, fixed income and foreign exchange at Russell Investments, said he was waiting for a buying opportunity in U.S. Treasuries for this reason. "U.S. data looks astonishingly resilient," he said, but this likely reflected a spending rush before tariffs pushed business input costs and retail sticker prices higher. RISK EVENTS The past week saw U.S. trade agreements with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, while deal talks continued with South Korea. Next week brings the next Fed interest rate meeting, the closely watched monthly payrolls report, and earnings from Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft. Trump has kept up pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut rates after a rare presidential visit to the central bank on Thursday, although he said he did not intend to fire Powell, as he has frequently suggested he would. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were steady at 4.41% while two-year yields, which track monetary policy bets, were also flat at 3.923%. Robust earnings from Google parent Alphabet took Wall Street's Nasdaq to a record high on Thursday but futures trading signalled the tech-heavy index would flatline at the start of cash trading in New York. Contracts tracking the blue-chip S&P 500 index were also flat in early European dealings. The Bank of Japan has its own policy announcement on Thursday, and Prime Minister Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party holds a meeting on the same day. That's after the European Central Bank held rates steady on Thursday, pausing its easing campaign as it waited to assess the impact from U.S. tariffs. The euro was steady against the dollar on Friday at $1.1745 , although German government debt sold off, with the yield on benchmark 10-year Bunds up 5 basis points (bps) in early dealings to 2.74%, the highest since March 28 . Japanese government bond yields were steady on Friday at about 1.6%, a level last seen in October 2008, having ratcheted higher on concerns the political scale is tilting more towards fiscal stimulus. This came after big gains for opposition parties backing consumption tax cuts in Sunday's upper house election. Pressure is building on the more fiscally hawkish Ishiba to quit after his coalition lost its majority in the vote, having done the same in lower house elections last October. Gold eased 0.3% to around $3,356 an ounce. Brent crude futures gained 0.7% to $69.65 a barrel.


Crypto Insight
an hour ago
- Crypto Insight
Golden visas are shrinking for crypto investors
Governments globally are rethinking so-called 'golden visa' programs that allow wealthy investors, including crypto executives, to secure residency or citizenship. Golden visa programs let applicants secure citizenship after investing a sum, often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, in a local investment fund or real estate. While this can stimulate local economic development and attract talent from around the globe, some jurisdictions are rethinking the strategy. In May, Malta's golden passport program was ruled illegal by an EU court. The EU Commission said that Malta's Exceptional Investor Naturalisation (MEIN) program was commercializing European citizenship. Cyprus and Bulgaria ended their golden visa programs in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Global citizenship in the form of multiple passports may be attractive for crypto investors, especially as different countries implement more friendly tax and regulatory regimes for crypto. But getting that second or even third passport is becoming more difficult. Golden visa programs get stricter as crypto investors seek citizenship Golden visa regimes have often been touted as a solid way for countries to boost economic development. Alessandro Palombo, co-founder and CEO of Bitizenship — an advisory firm working with Portugal's golden visa program — told Cointelegraph, 'It's a mutually beneficial exchange: Countries gain investment and growth, while investors secure residency rights, enhanced mobility and, in some cases, a path to citizenship.' When US President Donald Trump unveiled his plan for a 'Trump Gold Card,' granting 'green card privileges plus,' he said that the program would bring wealthy people to the US who would be 'spending a lot of money, paying a lot of taxes, employing a lot of people.' This can be particularly true for smaller countries with limited opportunities for economic development. But critics and observers have flagged the potential for these programs to be abused. In the aforementioned case of Bulgaria, members of the European Parliament raised concerns that the program created an incentive for corruption and money laundering. According to Al Jazeera, the program's main beneficiaries were from China, Russia and the Middle East. The sudden entrance of rich investors and high earners can also lead to economic problems for residents. On April 3, Spain canceled its golden visa over concerns about skyrocketing housing costs locals couldn't afford. The path to citizenship through Spain's golden visa program was an investment in the real estate market, and lawmakers believed that the program was contributing to the crisis. The golden visa program in Portugal, which has long been touted as the premier crypto hub of Europe, is also getting stricter. Palombo said, 'Portugal is moving toward more restrictive policies, including tightening residency and citizenship eligibility.' Whether it comes from security and money laundering concerns, particularly after the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, or due to the economic problems of suddenly injecting a large amount of wealthy investors into a community, gold visa options are winding down. Why golden visa programs appeal to crypto investors Golden visa programs can be particularly enticing for wealthy globe-trotting crypto investors as they provide the benefits of residence, and often citizenship, of a country while imposing next to no residency requirements. In some cases, applicants are required to spend as little as five days per year in a country while still receiving the benefits of citizenship. Furthermore, some golden visa programs have integrated crypto directly into their investment schemes. In Portugal, the Bitcoin Eco Golden Visa lets investors get exposure to Bitcoin and local companies through an investment fund while getting the benefits of the Portuguese golden visa scheme. El Salvador, the first country to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, also passed a law in 2023 granting citizenship to anyone who invests $1 million in Bitcoin or Tether's USDt. In Italy, Bitizenship is launching a golden visa route that would allow investors to get a route to Italian residency by investing 250,000 euros in a local Bitcoin startup. There is clearly appetite for crypto-related visa programs, particularly in countries with existing crypto-friendly regimes. Hype about a possible new crypto-related golden visa program led to a publicity nightmare earlier this month when the TON Foundation made a premature announcement of a golden visa regime it's reportedly developing for the UAE. The TON Foundation, the organization behind the network started by encrypted messenger Telegram, announced in early July that investors could secure a '10-year Golden Visa with a one-time $35,000 processing fee' in addition to staking $100,000 on The Open Network blockchain for three years. The UAE's Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, the Securities and Commodities Authority and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority issued a joint statement denying the announcement. TON later clarified that the announcement was premature and that it was working independently with a 'licensed partner' to develop the scheme, with final approval ultimately resting with UAE regulators. Options for investment may be expanding within existing golden visa regimes, like the Bitcoin Eco Golden Visa in Portugal or the crypto startup option in Italy. However, overall, the trend is moving toward fewer and stricter regulations around such visa schemes. Since 2020, at least nine countries have scrapped their golden visa programs: the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Montenegro, Moldova and Malta. Palombo said, 'What's possible today may become legally impossible within months or weeks. This pattern is accelerating. Golden visas, once abundant, are fast becoming scarce.' Source:


Zawya
2 hours ago
- Zawya
Euro zone yields set for third daily rise, bets wane on ECB cuts
LONDON - Euro zone government bonds headed for a third daily rise on Friday, as investors lost some conviction in the European Central Bank cutting interest rates much further, while growing chances of a U.S. trade deal drew cash out of safe haven assets. The ECB left interest rates at 2% on Thursday, as expected, and President Christine Lagarde suggested policymakers were less concerned about an abrupt slowdown in growth and inflation over the coming year. Bond yields rose sharply in response. Two-year German Schatz yields, which rose by nearly 12 basis points on Thursday in their biggest one-day increase since mid-May, were up 2.3 bps at 1.934%. Benchmark 10-year German yields were up 3.3 bps to 2.726%, while Italian yields rose nearly 5 bps to 3.613%, leaving the gap between the two at 88.4 bps, its highest in a week. Money markets show traders are undecided about another ECB rate cut this year, attaching about a 30% chance of a drop below 2% by the end of December. (Reporting by Amanda Cooper. Editing by Mark Potter)