Poland's pro-European coalition government won a vote of confidence on Wednesday, a result that Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said he hopes will give his cabinet new momentum after it was shaken by a setback in the presidential election.

A vote seen as a test of the power of populist nationalism in Europe was too close to call, with exit polls putting the two contenders neck and neck.

P OLAND’S PRESIDENTIAL election, which pits a centrist liberal against a hard-right nationalist, has been watched closely all across Europe. A liberal win would cement Poland’s newfound influence in the European Union’s mainstream;