Poland 2050 distances itself from KO-PSL Kraków candidate, calling the Warsaw launch 'unfortunate'

The Warsaw announcement

Senator Monika Piątkowska was presented on Tuesday as the joint candidate of Civic Coalition (KO) and the Polish People's Party (PSL) for the upcoming early mayoral election in Kraków. The press conference took place in the gardens of the Prime Minister's Chancellery in Warsaw, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz in attendance. Piątkowska told Kraków residents she was entering the race as a manager and specialist who knows the city inside out, having spent many years working in the Kraków municipal office.

I am going to the Kraków city hall as a manager, as a specialist, as a person who knows Kraków inside out. I spent many years in the Kraków city hall. I am going to Kraków as a city that is my only political party, that is the most important city for me.

Tusk said the choice was made in full agreement with Kosiniak-Kamysz and PSL, describing it as a shared idea that also matched Piątkowska's own ambitions.

Poland 2050 pushes back

Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz of Poland 2050 said the candidate was not backed by her party. She called the choice of venue unfortunate and stressed that local-government candidates should present themselves in the city they intend to lead. The director of Poland 2050's press office, Bartosz Ślusarczyk, went further on social media, writing that a conference announcing a Kraków candidate held in Warsaw and promoted via the Chancellery's profile was distasteful.

I think Kraków expects mayoral candidates to present themselves in Kraków. This is local government, after all.

A conference announcing the KO-PSL candidate for mayor of Kraków not only took place in Warsaw (!!!!), but was also promoted via the KPRM profile. To say it's distasteful is an understatement.

Poland 2050 is expected to decide on its own candidate by early next week. A source close to the party told PAP that Kraków MP Paweł Śliz, currently the party's parliamentary caucus head and chair of the Sejm justice and human rights committee, is the most likely contender.

Internal coalition scepticism

During a Tuesday evening debate on Polsat News, members of the ruling coalition's parliamentary groups voiced doubts about Piątkowska's candidacy. MP Rafał Komarewicz of the Centrum club said Piątkowska had not lived in Kraków for years, had become a senator by party decision, and was effectively brought to the city in a suitcase. MP Radosław Lubczyk of PSL expressed hope the choice would not backfire, noting that Łukasz Gibała is currently the main contender for the mayoralty. PiS politician Łukasz Kmita added that Piątkowska lacked popularity even within her own political circles.

This is a candidate who hasn't lived in Kraków for years. She became a senator because that was the decision. She lives in Warsaw or near Warsaw. And in Kraków she is — forgive the expression — brought in a suitcase.

The wider field

The early election in Kraków was triggered after incumbent mayor Aleksander Miszalski of KO was removed in a referendum on 24 May. The list of declared candidates already includes Aleksandra Owca (Razem), Michał Drewnicki (PiS), Daria Gosek-Popiołek (New Left), Grażyna Zofia Świat (Nonpartisan Local Government of Małopolska), Bartosz Bocheńczak (Confederation), Michał Klimek (Confederation of the Polish Crown), former Supreme Audit Office president Marian Banaś, and celebrity activist Marianna Schreiber. Łukasz Gibała, who was Miszalski's main rival in the 2024 Kraków mayoral election, has not ruled out running.