WARSAW – With the presidential runoff in Poland scheduled for this coming Sunday, the country has just had an intensely political weekend – from a controversy surrounding Friday’s debate, to an uproar over a Saturday night beer outing, and finally to two rival marches taking place on the streets of Warsaw on Sunday.
The first round of the presidential election, held on 18 May, ended with a victory for Rafał Trzaskowski of prime minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO, EPP), who secured 31 percent of the vote. He was followed closely by Karol Nawrocki, backed by PiS (ECR), with 29 percent. The two will now face off in a closely contested runoff this coming Sunday, 1 June.
On Friday evening, a televised debate between the candidates was hosted by the public broadcaster TVP. While most observers agreed that Nawrocki performed slightly better overall, his gesture during the debate sparked considerable controversy. At one point, Nawrocki covered his mouth with one hand while appearing to put something into his mouth or nose with the other.
Contrary to initial speculation that it might have been drugs, the candidate’s campaign manager Paweł Szefernaker clarified that it was snus, a Swedish tobacco product, which did not stop accusations of promoting an unhealthy lifestyle.
Trzaskowski performed much better the following day in a conversation with far-right Sławomir Mentzen of the Confederation party (PfE/ESN), who finished third in the first round of the election. Mentzen had invited both candidates to live interviews, giving them a chance to try to win over his supporters.
Unlike Nawrocki, who spoke with Mentzen two days earlier, Trzaskowski chose not to sign the declaration prepared by Mentzen and disagreed with him on several key issues, including Ukraine’s future membership in NATO.
Still, both men expressed satisfaction with the conversation and went for a beer together afterward at Mentzen’s bar, joined by Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski (PO, EPP).
This deeply upset many Confederation voters, who accused Mentzen of fraternising with political opponents.
The co-chair of the party and deputy speaker of parliament, Krzysztof Bosak, downplayed the significance of the gesture in an evening interview but admitted that he himself would not go for a beer with Trzaskowski.
Rival candidate marches
On Sunday, on the other hand, two competing marches by both presidential candidates took place through Warsaw: Trzaskowski’s campaign organised the ‘Great Patriots’ March,’ while Nawrocki held the ‘Great March for Poland.’
While both marches went through the city centre, their distinct routes prevented any significant incidents from occurring. According to independent estimates from investigative journalism outlet OKO.press, Trzaskowski’s march drew twice as many people as Nawrocki’s.
The latest Ipsos poll for TVP indicates a tight race between Rafał Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki, with both candidates receiving 47 percent support.