Presidential election On 19 March 2005, he formally declared his intention to run for president in the October 2005 election. In the first round of the elections he polled 33% of the vote, taking second place behind
Donald Tusk. By the second round, however, he had gained the support of
Radio Maryja, as well as of two other political parties besides his own:
Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland, and the
Polish People's Party. Elected President of the Republic of Poland (he defeated the runner-up
Donald Tusk by polling 8,257,468 votes, constituting 54.04 percent of the vote), Kaczyński assumed office on 23 December 2005, taking an oath before the National Assembly.
Domestic policy in 2007 In his first public speech as president-elect, Kaczyński said that his presidency would pursue the task of ameliorating the Republic, a process which he said would consist of "purging various pathologies from our life, most prominently crime [...], particularly criminal corruption – that entire, great rush to obtain unjust enrichment, a rush that is poisoning society, [and preventing the state from ensuring] elementary social security, health security, basic conditions for the development of the family [and] the security of commerce and the basic conditions for economic development." During his inauguration he stated several goals he would pursue during his presidency. Among those concerning internal affairs were: increasing social solidarity in Poland, bringing justice to those who were responsible for, or were affected by communist crimes in the People's Republic of Poland, fighting corruption, providing security in economy, and safety for development of family. Kaczyński also stated that he would seek to abolish economic inequalities between various regions of Poland. In his speech he also emphasized combining modernization with tradition and remembering the teachings of
Pope John Paul II. On 21 December 2008, Kaczyński became the first Polish head of state to visit a Polish synagogue and to attend religious services held there. His attendance coincided with the first night of
Hanukkah. Kaczyński supported the reintroducing the
death penalty in Poland, clashing with the
European Union over the issue in 2006.
Presidential pardons From 2005 to 2007, in accordance with article 133 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Poland, Kaczyński pardoned 77 people and declined to pardon 550.
Foreign affairs , in
Vilnius at the
Presidential Palace, 8 April 2010. This was to be Kaczyński's last meeting with a fellow head of state. In
foreign policy, Kaczyński noted that many of Poland's problems were related to the lack of
energy security and this issue would have to be resolved to protect Polish interests. Strengthening ties with the United States while continuing to develop relations within the European Union are two main goals of
Polish foreign affairs, as well as improving relations with
France and Germany despite several problems in relations with the latter. Aside from those issues, his immediate goals were to develop a tangible strategic partnership with Ukraine and greater co-operation with the
Baltic states,
Azerbaijan and
Georgia. He was greatly admired in Israel because he promoted educating Polish youth about the
Holocaust. There was widespread grief in Israel over his death. Defense Minister
Radosław Sikorski compared the
planned Russia to Germany gas pipeline to the
Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and Foreign Minister
Anna Fotyga stated that the pipeline was a threat to Poland's energy security. In November 2006 in
Helsinki, at a European Union-Russia meeting, Poland vetoed the launch of EU-Russia partnership talks due to a Russian ban on Polish meat and plant products imports. , 2008 , 2008 As a reaction to claims by a German exile group
Preussische Treuhand, which represents post-1945
German expellees from Eastern Europe, the Polish Foreign Minister Fotyga mistakenly threatened to reopen a 1990 Treaty fixing the Oder and Neisse rivers as the border between the two countries instead of the Neighborhood Treaty signed in the same year. in Paris, 8 October 2007 Following the military conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008, Kaczyński provided the website of the President of Poland for dissemination of information for blocked by the
Russian Federation Georgian internet portals. In a speech during the Russian aggression against Georgia, Kaczyński predicted: "Today Georgia, tomorrow Ukraine, the Baltic States the day after tomorrow, and then perhaps the time will come for my country, Poland!" During a state visit to
Serbia in 2009, Kaczyński said that the Polish government, on the basis of its constitutional competences, decided to recognize
Kosovo and emphasized that he, as the President of the state, did not agree with that. ==Marriage and family==