Polish Election Headed To Run-Off

Presidential Race Centered On Welfare State Protections, Economics

(AP)  Pro-market lawmaker Donald Tusk had a razor-thin lead over Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczynski in Poland's presidential election, the state electoral commission said early Monday.

The commission said that with 91.5 percent of the ballots counted, 35.8 percent of voters had backed Tusk in Sunday's election, while 33.3 percent voted for Kaczynski. Such a result would force the two former activists with the anti-communist Solidarity movement into a head-to-head race Oct. 23.

Final official results were not expected until late Monday. An exit poll by state television indicated Tusk, who wants to stimulate the economy with low taxes and deregulation, led with about 38 percent while Kaczynski, a former child actor hoping to preserve a strong safety net, had 32 percent.

The race in the formerly communist country centered on the Europe-wide issue of just how far to go in sacrificing welfare state protections for the promise of an American-style economy with fewer social benefits but faster growth and job creation.

Tusk wants a 15-percent flat tax rate on personal and corporate earnings, while Kaczynski favors a greater role for the state in protecting the social safety net and promoting Roman Catholic values. He wants tax cuts, but would keep the system under which high earners pay more — and would give deductions for big families.

The election of either candidate would cement the sharp decline of the ruling former communists, who were defeated in parliamentary elections on Sept. 25 following a string of sleaze scandals and failure to slash Poland's jobless rate, now at 17.8 percent, the highest in the European Union.