Civic Platform (PO) councilors in Inowrocław have abandoned their plan to grant honorary citizenship of the city to Jerzy Owsiak. The decision to drop the initiative honoring the founder of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP) was driven by the lack of support from the majority of the City Council.
Not long ago, Inowrocław was a stronghold of the Civic Platform. The city had been governed for years by Ryszard Brejza, father of Krzysztof Brejza, a similarly influential PO politician and MP. However, after Ryszard Brejza stepped down as mayor after 21 years to successfully run for the Senate, and Krzysztof Brejza became an MEP, Inowrocław effectively slipped out of Tusk’s party’s orbit.
The Civic Platform, which operates in local government under the banner of the Civic Coalition (KO), recently experienced firsthand how little influence it now holds in Inowrocław. This became evident when its councilors attempted to push through the initiative to grant Jerzy Owsiak honorary citizenship.
In an open letter sent in January to the city’s mayor, Arkadiusz Fajok, and the chairman of the City Council, Tomasz Marcinkowski, KO councilors argued that Owsiak’s work and that of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity “undoubtedly align with values such as solidarity, civic engagement, respect for others, appreciation of diversity, and freedom – values highly cherished by the people of Inowrocław.”
However, the KO initiative met with resistance from the majority of the city’s councilors. According to reports from wprost.pl, City Council Chairman Tomasz Marcinkowski pointed to procedural aspects, emphasizing that according to council regulations, the title of honorary citizen can only be awarded to “individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the city of Inowrocław.” He expressed doubt as to whether Owsiak’s work met this criterion, adding that “initiating the process could later lead to accusations that this criterion was not actually fulfilled.”
Jan Gaj, deputy chairman of the City Council and head of the Law and Justice (PiS) councilors’ group, also voiced his opposition, stating bluntly that “we should separate political goals from charitable ones.”
Lacking support from the majority of councilors, the initiators ultimately withdrew their proposal. Patryk Kaźmierczak, head of the Civic Coalition councilors’ group, commented: “We decided that since councilors from other groups did not agree, we would not push for a resolution that we could have prepared as a club.” (wprost.pl reports).