Around a million people gathered in Warsaw for a rally, staging a protest against Poland's conservative government just two weeks before a crucial general election. The "Million Hearts March," organized by opposition leader and former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, aimed to galvanize voters in the run-up to the election.

Despite the massive turnout and the opposition's hopes, the prevailing mood remains somber as the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party continues to maintain a significant lead in the polls. According to POLITICO's Poll of Polls, PiS stands at 38 percent, while the main opposition alliance, Civic Coalition, lags at 30 percent.

Donald Tusk, heading the Civic Coalition, envisioned the Million Hearts march as a morale boost for opposition supporters, demonstrating that the PiS, which have been in power since 2015, can be defeated. However, the challenge ahead remains daunting for the opposition.

“The impossible has become possible, when I see this sea of hearts when I see these hundreds of thousands of smiling faces, I feel that this turning point in the history of our homeland is approaching,” Tusk told the crowd in Warsaw.

However, the atmosphere among the thousands of individuals flowing through the center of the Polish capital, many of them waving red-and-white Polish or deep-blue EU flags, was noticeably somber.

“I’ve had it up to my ears with the government of these awful people who are destroying my country,” said Kalina de Nisau, wearing a wrap made out of knotted EU and Polish flags. “But I’m not certain that this march will change the outcome. It’s very difficult.”

As Tusk and other party leaders addressed the massive gathering in Warsaw, PiS leaders convened in Poland's coal mining hub of Katowice, issuing ominous warnings about the potential perils facing Poland should Tusk and his allies emerge victorious on October 15.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, during the PiS gathering, declared, "If we succeed in beating [Civic Coalition], we'll chase away Tusk. Where? To Berlin." Morawiecki echoed a common PiS theme suggesting that Tusk colludes with Germany to undermine Poland. He even referred to Tusk as the "political husband" of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Moreover, Morawiecki accused Tusk of attempting to orchestrate an illegal migrant influx into the EU, brandishing a stack of documents that he claimed outlined this scheme "in black and white." This move seems aimed at diverting attention from a burgeoning bribes-for-visas scandal involving allegations that Polish consulates have issued work visas in exchange for money and granted a substantial number of visas to non-EU citizens.

Notably, Germany recently tightened border controls on its frontiers with the Czech Republic and Poland to counter an influx of asylum seekers. PiS also sought to downplay the significance of the opposition march, which might constitute the largest in Polish history. Leaders of the Law and Justice party are conducting a rival rally in the southern city of Katowice.

Former Prime Minister Beata Szydlo of the Law and Justice party stated in Katowice, "We don't need to wear paper hearts; we have hearts that are beating for Poland," in reference to the symbol of the opposition rally. Bartlomiej Piela, a Katowice resident who attended the opposition rally in Warsaw, expressed a differing opinion.

Bartlomiej Piela, a resident of Katowice who journeyed to the opposition rally in Warsaw held a contrary view. "Breaking fundamental civil rights and women's freedom to choose how they wish to live, pitting Polish people against each other... I hope the march will mobilize people to change it", the 29-year-old said.

Image source: Politico News