The website of the care home involved in a controversial campaign event organized by Civic Platform MP Kinga Gajewska is currently offline. In a conversation with Niezalezna.pl, the care home’s director admitted ignorance regarding the website issue and criticized the unnecessary posting of photographs featuring the home’s residents. Agnieszka Ścigaj, a PiS MP specializing in social policy, challenged the director’s explanations, asserting that the residents could not have suffered a worse blow to their dignity.
Potatoes for Votes: Gajewska’s Campaign Mishap
On Thursday, Kinga Gajewska shared photos and a brief video on social media from her visit to the “Dom Rodzinny” Care and Treatment Facility in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki. Wearing a T-shirt supporting Rafał Trzaskowski, Gajewska presented residents with sacks of potatoes, vegetables, and chicken meat intended for soup.
This election-driven event, involving elderly and vulnerable individuals likely unaware of its political context, naturally sparked significant backlash. By Friday, Gajewska had deleted the controversial content from her social media, conceding that “photos from the DPS visit should not have been published.”
Care Facility Faces Fallout
Gajewska’s actions not only raised concerns about dignity violations but also eroded public trust in an institution dedicated to supporting the vulnerable. The care home’s website, domrodzinny.pl, was inaccessible at the time of reporting.
When we contacted the “Dom Rodzinny” facility for details about Gajewska’s visit, our call was abruptly terminated by an employee, who stated there was “no one to talk to.”
Subsequently, we managed to reach director Wacław Kerpert, who is currently abroad. Kerpert explained he had only known someone was coming with donations. Regarding the consent for image publication, he clarified:
“All residents who are photographed during our events have signed consent forms for publication. However, I believe this specific incident was unnecessary.”
Concerning the non-functional website, Kerpert suggested a technical glitch, promising to investigate upon his return next week.
Exploitation Under the Guise of Generosity?
PiS MP Agnieszka Ścigaj expressed significant skepticism regarding Kerpert’s explanation. Speaking with Niezalezna.pl, she argued that any consent obtained was likely meant for promotional purposes benefitting the facility, not political exploitation.
She emphasized the need for explicit consent, particularly when dealing with mentally competent individuals. “Unless the care home is their legal guardian—which I highly doubt—consent must come directly from them,” Ścigaj pointed out.
“This episode perfectly illustrates the cynical propaganda of ‘warm water in the tap,’ implying elderly care home residents should feel contented and grateful merely because they received a sack of potatoes,” she criticized. “It’s profoundly humiliating and degrading—no greater harm to their dignity could have been inflicted.”
Ścigaj further stressed the vulnerability of care home residents, noting how such institutions represent challenging life stages marked by illness, aging, and isolation. “These people were callously exploited for cheap political gains,” she stated emphatically.
“If residents had willingly consented in exchange for personal benefits, that could be somewhat understandable as their own decision. But exploiting them in such a humiliating stunt is utterly incomprehensible and displays an alarming disconnect from genuine empathy, especially toward the elderly and isolated,” concluded MP Agnieszka Ścigaj.