Izabela Bodnar has abruptly resigned from her membership in Poland 2050, citing a “difference in values.” Her departure comes at a time when Poland 2050 leader Szymon Hołownia is increasingly asserting his independence from the Civic Platform and Prime Minister Donald Tusk. According to unofficial sources, Bodnar’s decision may not have been entirely voluntary but rather forced. In the background are questions surrounding the financing of her mayoral campaign in Wrocław and legal issues involving her husband.
A Decision Long in the Making – Or Was It?
MP Izabela Bodnar announced her resignation from Poland 2050 on the X platform, stating that her decision was politically motivated.
“The political direction taken by the leaders of Poland 2050 is fundamentally at odds with the values I hold.”
However, political circles had been abuzz for weeks with rumors that she was being pressured to make this move. Allegedly, this pressure was linked to an ongoing investigation involving her husband, Maciej Bodnar, in the so-called “waste mafia” case.
To recap: In 2024, prosecutors filed charges against him related to corruption and influence peddling. The accusations are serious, carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors, Timing, and Allegations of Blackmail
Maciej Bodnar’s case is not new—the investigation began back in 2022 when the Internal Security Agency (ABW) arrested him along with a group of waste management businessmen. The details of the case have been thoroughly covered in articles and episodes of the program Strictly Public by investigative journalist Piotr Nisztor.
According to prosecutors, Bodnar allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for halting multiple tax inspections into his waste-related businesses. He has maintained his innocence to this day. A total of 10 people were detained in the case, with prosecutors filing 39 charges in total.
Multiple sources suggest that Izabela Bodnar was under significant political pressure to leave Poland 2050, with suggestions that doing so might result in more “lenient” treatment of her husband’s case.
Her resignation seems to support that theory. It came just as Szymon Hołownia began openly criticizing what he called an “attempted coup”—in which he refused to take part—by convening the National Assembly to swear in Karol Nawrocki as president, contrary to the ruling coalition’s expectations.
Within this context, suspicions have emerged that Bodnar’s departure was intended to weaken Hołownia and help Donald Tusk implement a strategy to fracture the Poland 2050 party.
Poland 2050 Responds to Bodnar’s Resignation
Later in the day, the party issued an official statement addressing Bodnar’s resignation. While not mentioning her husband explicitly, the statement alluded to concerns about her “family’s business activities.”
“Izabela Bodnar was removed from the Parliamentary Environmental Committee due to a conflict of interest. She was given a clear message: either resolve the concerns surrounding her family’s business activities or end her political career in Poland 2050. She chose to end her political career in Poland 2050. That is the true reason behind her decision,”
the statement read.
During an appearance on the program Miłosz Kłeczek Invites, MP Piotr Stec from Poland 2050 was asked about the situation. Host Miłosz Kłeczek questioned whether Bodnar had been blackmailed or offered a deal in which her husband would avoid criminal charges if she left the party.
“I won’t say anything beyond what was stated in the party’s official statement,”
Stec replied.