Rafal Trzaskowski, Leader of the Opposition and Black Beast of the Polish Church

Audio 02:29

By: Eliott Brachet

In Poland, when the presidential election originally scheduled for May 10 was postponed sine die due to the coronavirus, a new candidate appeared in the ranks of the opposition: Rafal Trzaskowski.

Publicity

At 48, the mayor of Warsaw replaces the resigning candidate Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska who was in free fall in the polls. Rafal Trzaskowski has therefore taken up the torch of the Civic Platform, the leading opposition force against the ultra-conservatives of the Law and Justice Party (PiS), in power since 2015.

"  They will throw many spikes at us. But the more they attack us, the stronger we will be. And I tell you, we will win this election.  Without even having collected the 100,000 compulsory signatures, Rafal Trzaskowski is already campaigning. No one knows when the elections will be held because of the coronavirus, but this charismatic forty-something already crosses the country, multiplies the meetings with his mask on his face.

For Paul Gradvohl, specialist in central Europe and professor at the University of Lorraine, Trzaskowski embodies a liberal and pro-European alternative to outgoing president Andrzej Duda. “  If he managed to win, it was because he was young and he was ready to take on an impossible mission. His background probably explains this choice, he is a real pro-European who had functions in the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, which took with 57% of the votes in the first round the town hall of Warsaw. He is someone who knows how to run an electoral campaign. Besides, he left with a credit of 10% of the vote a few weeks ago, and in less than a month today, in the polls, he is at 28%. While the reverse movement is seen in the current president, who has gone from 50% to 38%.  "

Trzaskowski would therefore have a chance in a possible second round. However, despite his full CV, the candidate struggles to convince, and to put it mildly, among a rather conservative Polish population. Last year, Trzaskowski signed a charter for the defense of LGBT people which set fire to the powder and launched a hate campaign with homophobic hints.

“  To answer the fundamental question : can this man be unanimous ? The answer is of course : no, says Paul Gradvohl.  There is an extremely violent attack on Trzaskowski in the name of Christian ethics. He made a rainbow-colored tram, he made demonstrations in support of equality between members of sexual minorities. So Trzaskowski has before him all the priests of all the parishes of Poland, and in particular in the countryside, who describe him as the devil.  " 

To win the presidential election, Trzaskowski, who is perceived as an elitist candidate for big cities, will therefore have to conquer rural Poland, largely acquired by PiS.

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• Poland
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• Coronavirus

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