Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk\u2019s Civic Coalition (KO) suffered a major setback on Sunday, 24 May, as the inhabitants of Krak\u00f3w\u2014the country\u2019s second-largest city and one of the traditional strongholds of Tusk\u2019s liberal-centrist-progressive alliance\u2014voted to remove Mayor Aleksander Miszalski and the city council in a recall referendum.<\/p>\n
According to the exit poll conducted by OGB and Stan360 for Polsat News, turnout reached 33.4 per cent, comfortably above the legal validity thresholds of 26.98 per cent for the mayoral recall and 30.59 per cent for the city council recall.<\/p>\n
Among those who cast ballots, an overwhelming 97.8 per cent voted in favour of recalling Miszalski<\/a>, while 96 per cent supported dismissing the city council. A late poll published on Sunday night revised turnout slightly lower to 31.8 per cent\u2014still above the required threshold\u2014while the result itself remained virtually unchanged, effectively confirming Miszalski\u2019s removal pending the official count.<\/p>\n Losing Krak\u00f3w Is Painful for Tusk<\/p>\n The referendum result is widely regarded as a major blow to Donald Tusk and his governing alliance, particularly its progressive wing. Miszalski had been elected only two years earlier as one of KO\u2019s flagship urban victories in the 2024 local elections and represented a typical urban-liberal technocratic figure within Tusk\u2019s coalition, similar to Warsaw Mayor Rafa\u0142 Trzaskowski. Krak\u00f3w was intended to serve as a showcase for that model of technocratic-liberal governance, with a heavy emphasis on green urban policies. <\/p>\n According to many analysts, however, those same policies ultimately contributed to Miszalski\u2019s downfall, as rising living costs associated with the city\u2019s controversial green agenda became a central issue in the campaign.<\/p>\n Tusk himself suffered a significant loss of face after personally intervening<\/a> in the campaign and dismissing the referendum effort as opposition agitation orchestrated by right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) and Konfederacja. \u2018This is some kind of PiS and Konfederacja idea for political troublemaking,\u2019 the Polish prime minister said in February, adding that Miszalski had \u2018our full support\u2019. Tusk\u2019s remarks mirrored rhetoric used throughout Miszalski\u2019s campaign, which framed the referendum as a politically motivated attempt at destabilization and called on supporters to boycott the vote.<\/p>\n The referendum was also widely viewed as a symbolic \u2018midterm test\u2019 ahead of the 2027 parliamentary election, with the outcome suggesting weakening political momentum for KO. Almost exactly one year earlier, PiS-backed Karol Nawrocki had narrowly defeated<\/a> long-time Tusk ally Rafa\u0142 Trzaskowski in the presidential run-off, shattering the government\u2019s hopes of fully implementing its programme, including major judicial reforms, progressive social policies, and efforts to hold former PiS officials accountable for alleged abuses of power and corruption. <\/p>\n The Krak\u00f3w result similarly signals growing dissatisfaction with KO nationwide, including among parts of its own electoral base.<\/p>\n A Model of Right-Wing Cooperation Ahead of 2027?<\/p>\n What eventually became a highly symbolic defeat for Tusk\u2019s alliance initially emerged in late 2025 and early 2026 as a grassroots civic campaign led by activists, local conservative circles, and residents increasingly frustrated with Krak\u00f3w\u2019s leadership and the city\u2019s direction. Public anger steadily intensified over planned environmental restrictions, rising parking fees, higher transport costs, growing municipal debt, and perceptions that Miszalski\u2019s administration represented an increasingly technocratic and detached elite.<\/p>\n Over the following months, with backing from opposition parties PiS and Konfederacja, organizers succeeded in collecting more than 130,000 signatures<\/a> demanding a recall referendum.<\/p>\n Much like the 2025 presidential run-off, Krak\u00f3w now also demonstrates how successful electoral cooperation between PiS and Konfederacja could function if built around strong anti-KO sentiment and the mobilization of different segments of the right-wing electorate. Nawrocki\u2019s presidential victory was widely attributed in part to Konfederacja candidate S\u0142awomir Mentzen endorsing him in the second round against Trzaskowski.<\/p>\n \u2018Krak\u00f3w now also demonstrates how successful electoral cooperation between PiS and Konfederacja\u2019<\/p>\n While many of the referendum votes should be interpreted primarily as votes against Miszalski rather than explicit endorsements of PiS or Konfederacja, the cooperation model emerging in Krak\u00f3w could nevertheless provide a useful framework ahead of the 2027 parliamentary election. \u2018After Krak\u00f3w, we are doing the same<\/a> with [Civic] Platform throughout Poland,\u2019 Konfederacja MP Konrad Berkowicz declared in February.<\/p>\n