Late Polish president's twin heads to runoff vote

AP

WARSAW, Poland — The socially conservative twin of the late Polish president was headed for a runoff Monday with the moderate, pro-European leader who took his brother's place after he died in a plane crash.

The outcome is expected to shape the country's direction on a wide range of issues, including the adoption of the euro, welfare reform and even its mission in Afghanistan.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski and interim President Bronislaw Komorowski will face each other on July 4 after neither was able muster the 50 percent needed for outright victory.

Kaczynski's policies are essentially identical to those of his deceased brother and he would be widely expected to pursue the same platform. Lech Kaczynski who was killed along with his wife and 95 other people in the crash of a plane of dignitaries trying to land in heavy fog in Smolensk, Russia, on April 10. Many called it the worst tragedy to strike Poland since World War II.

Lech Kaczynski, often considered the less forceful and charismatic of the two brothers, favored a strong welfare state and was skeptical of closer ties to the EU. The Kaczynskis' base is made up of older, rural and observant Catholic Poles who favor upholding the country's strict abortion laws and oppose gay rights.