By Aleksandra Krzysztoszek
(EurActiv) -- The Warsaw mayor won his party's primaries and will run to be the Polish president as the candidate of Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO, EPP) alliance.
In the primaries held on Friday (22 November), Rafał Trzaskowski beat foreign minister Radosław Sikorski, by wining 75% of the votes.
“I know that the winner will go to the elections with full determination,” Prime Minister and KO leader Donald Tusk said, announcing the outcome.
Praised by his supporters for his skills and knowledge of foreign languages, Trzaskowski served as minister of digital affairs in the previous Tusk government between 2013 and 2014. He then became mayor of Warsaw in 2018 and was re-elected to the post in 2023.
Trzaskowski thanked his voters and pointed out that KO had decided to hold primaries "as a truly democratic party," unlike the main opposition PiS (ECR), where party leader Jarosław Kaczyński has the final say.
“In PiS, just one voice counts. Here, every vote counts,” he said.
Sikorski thanked his rival for a "chivalrous competition" and praised his idea of organising primaries. He also called on those who voted for him to support Trzaskowski "unconditionally" in the elections.
“Rafał, fight, fight, fight and win!” he told Trzaskowski.
Trzaskowski is the clear favourite in the elections. According to the latest polls, he is likely to win no matter who the PiS nominates as its candidate.
PiS to name its candidate on Sunday
Incumbent Polish President Andrzej Duda is finishing his second term as president, the constitution stops him from running for another term.
As a result, the PiS is looking for a new candidate, which it will announce as early as Sunday (24 November), according to party sources.
The same sources suggest Karol Nawrocki, former head of the Institute of National Remembrance, will be the most likely contender. Other names that could be in the running include controversial former education minister, Przemysław Czarnek, MEP Tobiasz Bocheński, and former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Mateusz Morawiecki is the least likely candidate for the PiS presidential nomination, as his tenure as prime minister may weigh against him.
He has also expressed interest in the ECR leadership, currently held by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (FdI, ECR).
After the party lost power in Poland, because of the 2023 parliamentary election, from PiS's perspective, keeping the presidency is crucial, as it would allow the party to maintain influence over the government and veto legislation.
For the same reason, it is essential for Tusk's ruling coalition to win since it would no longer have to deal with presidents who veto laws and hamper the implementation of his party's policies. These include restoring judicial independence, which is key for Poland to receive further EU recovery funds.
While the ruling coalition initially considered nominating a single candidate for president, at the end of the day, each party decided to run a separate candidate.
Last week, parliamentary speaker and head of the Poland 2050 party (Renew), Szymon Hołownia, announced his bid. The Left (S&D) is going to name their candidate soon.
The opposition Confederation (PfE/ESN) party nominated its co-leader, Sławomir Mentzen.
The date of the elections has not been scheduled yet, but they will be held around spring of 2025.