Presidential election in Poland: Rafal Trzaskowski: Mayor with foreign policy experience

The pro -European presidential candidate Rafal Trzaskowski is a close political colleague from Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The 53-year-old doctorate with the fashionable three-day beard is one of the profiled heads within the liberal conservative camp. As early as the last presidential election in 2020, he succeeded in respect: in the runoff election, he narrowly defeated the incumbent Andrzej Duda.

The son of a jazz composer studied in Paris and Oxford and worked as an interpreter. He masters five foreign languages: In addition to English and French, he also speaks Spanish, Italian and Russian. With political opponents, this earned him the nickname “Pan Bonjour” (Mr. Bonjour).

In 2013, Tusk, who was already Poland’s head of government, brought him to his cabinet as Minister for Administration and Digitization. Later he was deputy foreign minister. He has been the mayor of Warsaw since 2018, and last year he won the re -election on the first attempt.

Trzaskowski modernized Poland’s capital

As the city head of Warsaw, Trzaskowski has done a lot to modernize the two-million inhabitant city, for example by expanding the local transport network and investing into the cultural sector. Critics also refer to the waste of public funds. The construction of a toilet in a city park devoured 150,000 euros. In the province, where you can buy an apartment for this amount, shake your head over it.

Trzaskowski has a lot of things that a candidate needs for the highest state office: international experience, intelligence, good looks and talent in dealing with media. His weak side is that he is perceived as a typical representative of the Großstadtelite. He can hardly score in the country.

A beer could bring votes in votes

Within his party, the liberal -conservative citizen coalition, Trzaskowski is rather left. The father of two children is committed to the rights of the LGBT community, regularly marched at Pride parades and let off the crucifixes in Warsaw Office. For many voters in the Catholic country, this is strange. The allegation of him is that he says goodbye to traditional Polish values.

Skill showed Trzaskowski in dealing with the right -wing extremist Slawomir Mentzen. The third place in the first round of the presidential election invited him to his talk show and asked him to sign an eight-point catalog-as a prerequisite for an election recommendation. Trzaskowski rode violently with mentions and refused to sign. Then he went with the brewery owner in his pub and drank a beer with him. This conciliatory gesture is likely to have been well received by part of Mentzens voters.