Page 13 - bne_newspaper_November_02_2018

Central Europe
November 2, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 13
That could give liberals and the left a combined 30%-40% of the vote, likely pushing PiS out of power if – and a big if at that – if the left can work together and then compromise with the liberals on what a post-PiS Poland should look like.
There are risks to that scenario, however. For
one, mobilising an even higher turnout could be difficult. The 2015 parliamentary election that elevated PiS to power had a turnout of just 50.9%. Higher participation could be achieved by pushing further polarisation of voters, which could hurt the left (even if it manages to overcome current divi- sions at all) that is needed, in turn, to flank PiS.
“We have created the best anti-PiS,” KO’s leader Grzegorz Schetyna said on the election night on October 24, a strong hint that the liberals remain faithful to negative tactics and have trouble com- ing up with a constructive programme. That could be another obstacle to making undecided vot- ers swing the liberal way.
MET Group enters burgeoning Hungarian solar energy market
Levente Szilagyi in Budapest
Hungarian energy companies are in a race to install new solar parks at an amazing speed.
In the latest development, energy holding MET Group’s €25mn solar park, MET Dunai Solar Park, started to produce electricity on October 26, after a trial run was completed, the company announced.
Swiss-based MET Group operates in Europe on the natural gas, crude oil, and electricity markets. MET
The opposition can, of course, count on PiS’ undo- ing itself. A taste of that came in the recent cam- paign, with new controversies over the judiciary reform and scaremongering people with refugees apparently backfiring on the ruling party.
An economic downturn, although unlikely to happen in just a few months, could also help the opposition. In fact, any crisis could cause
a government rife with ambitious politicians like PM Mateusz Morawiecki or Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro to implode. The reportedly frail health of PiS' chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who turns 70 in June, might also become a factor at play.
PiS’ further engaging in conflict with the EU – with some member states hinting the next budget’s funding should hinge upon Poland’s observing the rule of law – could be another blow, given the EU enjoys some 80% support in Poland.
is active on the gas markets of 28 countries and at 23 international trading points. It has units in 15 countries. It trades about 8% of the gas consumed in continental Europe. Last year, it had revenues of €7.59bn, of which 8% was generated in Hungary.
The 17.6MW solar power plant built in Central Hungary by MET, its first renewable energy pro- ject, will produce electricity for 9,000 households. The expected lifespan of the plant is 25 years.