Tusk fails to win decisive victory in local elections, complicating his efforts to remake Poland

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s local and regional elections on the weekend have failed to give Prime Minister Donald Tusk the sweeping victory he had sought. He was hoping for a strong mandate as he tries to reverse eight years of rule by a populist party that was accused by the European Union of eroding democratic norms. Exit polls released after polls closed Sunday night show that Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition did well in big cities, where it is popular with social liberals. But Tusk continues to have a formidable opponent in the national conservative Law and Justice party. On Monday it was clear that the party remains the single most popular party in Poland.