The mayor of Warsaw is popular and criticized
Among the people of Warsaw, the mayor enjoys considerable support, despite the fact that his work in the leadership of the capital is also reaping criticism. Critics accuse him of not fulfilling the vast majority of his pre-election promises or of taking the side of alleged fraudsters in major restitution scandals in Warsaw.
Last year, he had to apologize, among other things, for the procedure in the accident at the wastewater treatment plant, from which a large amount of waste from the Warsaw sewer escaped into the Vistula River. At the same time, Trzaskowski first downplayed the whole situation and refused to help the government.
The mayor does not hide his support for registered same-sex partnerships, although he has distanced himself from supporting gay marriage. PiS supporters therefore warned that under his leadership, “the country will be flooded by deviants.” The Conservatives were also outraged last March when Warsaw, under Trzaskowski’s leadership, adopted the so-called LGBT Charter, which aims, among other things, to make life easier for people with a minority sexual orientation or to introduce sex education in schools according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards.
According to the media, as president, Trzaskowski could push for the liberalization of Polish abortion laws, which are among the strictest in Europe.
–
The second round will probably be balanced
In addition to Duda and Trzaskowski, nine other candidates are running for president, but polls are not giving them a chance to advance. According to current figures, the third place is TV presenter, writer and publicist Szymon Holownia, who would be voted on by about ten percent of voters. Other candidates – far-right Krzysztof Bosak, People’s Party Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and left-wing liberal Robert Biedroń – are likely to win eight percent or less.
The probable second round now looks even. According to a survey by the Kantar agency 47 percent of voters would vote for Duda, while 45 percent would vote for Trzaskowski. IPSOS investigation says 47 percent would support Trzaskowski and 43 percent Dud. It will be very important for both of them how the voters of the dropped candidates will vote in the second round.
“It is expected that most of Szymon Holownia’s electorate will go to Trzaskowski’s side. Robert Biedroń does not want to express support for Trzakowski, although it seems that most of his constituents would follow Trzakowski. It will be very important how Krzysztof Bosak’s voters behave. It is generally believed that most of them will stay at home, and if any of them go to the polls, they will vote more for Duda, “explains ČT Mathé, the CT correspondent.
It is important for the ruling PiS to defend Duda’s post so that the party, which has been in power since 2015, can continue to pursue its conservative program. These include generous social programs to support families or seniors, as well as controversial judicial reforms. They are criticized by the domestic opposition, international organizations and the European Commission for violating the principles of the democratic rule of law, which brought Warsaw to EU courts because of them.
The defeat of Duda would mean a significant weakening of its power positions for the ruling party. The Polish president has the right to return the laws of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament. Deputies can override his veto by a three-fifths majority, which PiS does not currently have.
– .
