“I would like to thank you all so much. I’ve got a very strong mandate, courage and determination to defeat PiS,” Trzaskowski said after the results were announced Saturday just before noon. He is expected to present a detailed campaign platform on Dec. 7.
Five years ago, Trzaskowski led a campaign for the Polish presidency against incumbent President Andrzej Duda, narrowly losing to the conservative politician after a race heavily skewed to the incumbent due to PiS’s total control of public media.
Now that Duda cannot run for a third term, Trzaskowski may have a better chance of winning Poland’s highest office.
Trzaskowski’s other rivals are Szymon Hołownia, leader of the centrist Poland 2050 party that is also part of Tusk’s ruling coalition, who announced his presidential bid earlier this month; and Sławomir Mentzen from the far-right Confederation alliance. Poland’s divided Left is yet to announce their candidate or candidates.
Prime Minister Tusk has not actively campaigned for either candidate, but this week he indicated who, according to a poll, might have a better chance of winning the presidency.
“Rafał Trzaskowski beats the PiS candidate 40 to 28 in the first round and 57 to 43 in the second. Radek Sikorski loses to the PiS candidate 28 to 30 in the first round, but wins 54 to 46 in the second. The result of the poll is clear, but it is only an indication. Your vote has the power to decide!,” Tusk said on his social media.
