Donald Tusk to head Poland's opposition

Former European Union leader and ex-prime minister Donald Tusk was elected the head of Poland's opposition Civic Platform party on Saturday.

Tusk, 64, served two terms as prime minister before leaving Poland for Brussels, where he took up the mantle of President of the European Council in 2014.

Tusk said he is making a return to Polish politics to help fight the "evil" of the current right-wing movement. The Civic Platform party is the strongest group in Poland's fragmented opposition.

Tusk helped establish the center to center-right party in 2001. It then went on to rule Poland for eight years, before the current conservative team won power in 2015.

'Ready to fight evil'

"I know that many Poles were waiting for this black dream to be over,'' Tusk said about the current government of the Law and Justice party, which has stirred controversy within the EU through its implementation of discriminatory policies.

"Today, evil rules in Poland and we are ready to fight against this evil'' Tusk said.

He added that the Civic Platform is "necessary as the force … that can win the battle with Law and Justice over Poland's future."

"There is no chance for victory without the Platform," Tusk said.

The EU and the European Court of Justice have opened procedures against Poland's current government, saying its changes to the justice system and opposition to some EU decisions have gone against the bloc's principles.

As president of the European Council, which coordinates the EU's national leaders, he handled crises from Greece's economic plight to Brexit negotiations. Of Brexit, he once warned, "there will be no cakes on the table for anyone, there will be only salt and vinegar."

lc/mm (AP, AFP)