If large urban centres are the core constituency of the liberal government of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, then Sunday's presidential election first round showed him struggling against an anti-establishment pushback simmering throughout Europe.

Since winning power back from the hands of his populist rivals a year and a half ago, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk has faced one very stubborn roadblock to his plans: the country’s president.

IT WAS NO surprise that Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, finished ahead of Karol Nawrocki, the candidate backed by the main hard-right opposition party, in the first round of the country’s presidential elections on May 18th.