Reversal for the Tusk government in Poland: the centrist mayor of Krakow, the country’s second largest city, was dismissed following a citizen’s initiative referendum supported by the right-wing and extreme right-wing opposition.
Aleksander Miszalski, elected in 2024 on a list of the Civic Coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, gathers the discontent of his administration beyond the political fracture lines.
In addition to the conservative opposition, the referendum initiative was notably supported – and financed – by Lukasz Gibala, center-left municipal councilor and former deputy of the Civic Platform, the main opponent of Aleksander Miszalski in the municipal elections of 2024.
In the wake of a violent campaign in which the mayor’s entourage, especially women, were the target of death threats, insulting tracts and degrading videos generated by the IA, 97% of the voters who expressed themselves demanded his departure.
The quorum has not been reached on the part of the consultation concerning the municipal council with a majority of the center and center-left, and it therefore remains in place.
A mise en garde for the pro-European government
“After this referendum, Cracow must once again show itself capable of being a community”, wrote Aleksander Miszalski on his account X.
To the communication of the 46-year-old mayor, which was deemed lighthearted and fanciful on social networks, recriminations were added to the city’s debt, the introduction of a low-emission zone (ZTP in Polish) in early 2026 and the extension of paid parking hours.
For his part, the mayor defended his report on the overhaul of municipal services and the transparency of his action, the development of the metro and green spaces. He also returned to the restrictions of the ZTP, in vain.
The defeat is a warning for the pro-European government before the legislative elections in 2027. Surveys show a growing discontent of public opinion often linked to purchasing power.
The main opposition party, Droit et Justice (Droite nationale-catholic), chased from power in 2023 by Donald Tusk, and immediately made a national lecture of this ballot.
“We are assisting the departure of “Tusk from Krakow”, but this will end with the departure of Tusk” himself, warned the vice-president of the PiS, Przemyslaw Czarnek from Krakow.
Dominik Jaskowiec, deputy of the Civic Coalition, denounced him as the result of an “extremely powerful mobilization of the right under the guise of a citizen initiative”.
Pending the election of a new mayor within 90 days, the city will be administered by a commissioner appointed by the Prime Minister.
A local referendum can be organized in Poland on condition of obtaining the support of at least 10% of the voters of a commune or a city. It is valid when the participation reaches 3/5 of the voters having voted in the second round of the last municipal elections.
Source: Lequotidien
