Polish election cheer for Scots - Angus Robertson

Many Scots will be delighted by the success of Donald Tusk in the Polish general election. It was as a former president of the European council, that he said there would be widespread enthusiasm in the EU if Scotland applied to rejoin after independence.

In a BBC interview after the Brexit referendum, where Scots voted by 62 per cent to remain in the European Union, he told the BBC he had great sympathy with the desire of many Scots to rejoin the EU.

“I want to stop myself from saying something too blunt. Sometimes I feel I am Scots. I’m very Scottish now, especially after Brexit,” he told the BBC.

“Emotionally, I have no doubt everyone would be enthusiastic here, in Brussels and more widely in Europe, but still we have treaties and formalities. But if you ask me about our emotions, there’s a genuine feeling. You will witness only, I think, empathy.”

Donald Tusk has surprised many observers with the success of his and other opposition parties in the Polish general election. Discussions will follow to form a coalition government.

Poles voted in more than 30,000 stations and queues were reported outside Poland, with 600,000 expats registered to vote.

Whoever finally leads the new Polish government, its strong support for Ukraine is set to continue. Poland has played a leading role in assisting their neighbours since the full-scale Russian invasion last year.