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New Polish PM engineers handshake between predecessor and foe

01 October 2014, 18:27 CET
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(WARSAW) - Poland's new prime minister, Ewa Kopacz, on Wednesday engineered an unexpected gesture of conciliation between her predecessor -- incoming European Council president Donald Tusk -- and his opposition arch-foe, making them shake hands publicly for the first time in years.

"We can file this under 'political bombshell' or even 'miracle'," said Tusk after he gripped the hand of conservative opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

It was the first sign of affability between the two men in a long while, and a symbolic sign that, now their paths were parting, they wanted to put their political enmity behind them.

"We all know that Polish public life has been weighed down for years by Jaroslaw Kaczynski's personal aversion towards Donald Tusk," Kopacz said during her first policy address.

Her call for "an end to this personal rancour" and to "rid Poland of this curse of hatred" had unexpected immediate effect with Kaczynski walking over to offer Tusk his hand.

"I told him not to buy the claim that I hate him. I wished him good luck in Brussels," Kaczynski later told reporters.

Tusk is to take over the EU's executive body in December. He stood down as Polish prime minister on September 9 to take up his new job.

The head of the agrarian Polish People's Party (PSL), which is part of the governing coalition, expressed disbelief at the handshake.

"We've been waiting for this gesture since that failed attempt in 2005" to form a coalition between Kaczynski's conservatives and Tusk's liberals, PSL leader and Economy Minister Janusz Piechocinski said.

"It's the end of an era," opined political analyst Eryk Mistewicz.

But he told AFP he was skeptical the political geniality would last, given the approach of local elections in November and a general election next year.


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