VOA标准英语2010年-Poland Expecting Close Run-Off Vote

Supporters of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, presidential candidate of Poland's Law and Justice Party, show victory signs during his last political rally of this campaign in Warsaw, Poland, 2 Jul 2010

Sunday, Polish voters are choosing their new president from between two candidates. One is the Speaker of Parliament and Acting¹ President Bronislaw Komorowski, from the governing center-right Civic² Platform party. The other is Jaroslaw Kaczynski from the far-right Law and Justice party.  Neither candidate was able to win an outright³ majority in the first round of voting June 20th.

Kaczynski is running in the place of his twin brother, the late President Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in April along with his wife Maria and 94 others in a plane crash near Smolensk, Russia. The crash moved the presidential election forward nearly four months.

Before the first round of voting, opinion polls had placed Komorowksi firmly in the lead. But the results were closer than predicted, with only a five percent difference between the two men. 

Grzegorz Makowski of the Warsaw-based Institute of Public Affairs explains this surge of support for Kaczynski, saying he thinks the plane crash at Smolensk mobilized more conservative voters. If the crash had not happened, he says, Komorowski would almost certainly have won in the first round.

"I am 99 percent sure that if it didn't happen, probably Lech Kaczynski would lose these elections in the first round," said Makowski.  "I think it had a really strong impact on those who were passive. Maybe not on those who were against Kaczynski, it didn't change their opinions. But it made those who were passive, and those who were potentially supporters of Kaczynski, active. Because of Smolensk, they started thinking that maybe we should be more conservative."

Kaczynski has run an effective advertising⁴ campaign, and may well have gained ground over the last two weeks.

At the moment, Komorowski's Civic Platform party controls parliament. Makowski says Kaczynski has played on his status as opposition⁵ leader by arguing that it could be dangerous for the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) to control both the Parliament and the Presidency⁶.

"This is a very populist argument, but it works. People in Poland have very emotional attitudes to politics, and when he is saying something like that people think, 'oh, we will have something like a totalitarian regime if the president is also from Platforma,'" Makowski.

Makowski adds that the summer holiday season may also affect the vote, since wealthier Poles tend to support Komorowski and many will be leaving for vacation over the weekend.

At this point, most analysts⁷ agree that the race is too close to call. Final results are expected to be announced on Monday.
 

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

3 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

4 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。