I thank all who understand my decision, I apologise to all disappointed. I'm a bit sad myself, but emotions and personal ambitions cannot overshadow responsibility and fair assessment of the situation - the outgoing President of the European Council and former Poland's PM, Donald Tusk, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
WATCH THE FULL EDITION OF TVN24'S NEWS IN ENGLISH AT TVN24 GO
On Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted: "I thank all who understand my decision, I apologise to all disappointed. I'm a bit sad myself, but emotions and personal ambitions cannot overshadow responsibility and fair assessment of the situation".
Tusk was referring to his decision announced on Tuesday he would not run for president of Poland, dampening the expectations of some opposition supporters that he would challenge incumbent President Andrzej Duda in an election next year.
"After careful consideration, I decided not to run for the upcoming presidential election," Tusk told reporters in Brussels in a televised statement broadcasted by TVN24.
"I think we can win these elections, but you need a candidate free from the baggage of unpopular decisions, and I am burdened with such baggage," Tusk said, referring to times when he was Poland's prime minister.
Tusk's centrist Civic Platform governed Poland from 2007 to 2015, when the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party won general elections, and its ally Duda became the president of the biggest former-communist EU country.
The 2020 presidential elections are the last chance for the opposition in the current election cycle to block the PiS from further reforms that have changed Poland from a country lauded for its swift transition to Western standards to one accused of undermining democratic standards.
Poland's Donald Tusk said he won't be running for 2020 presidency
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: The European Union