The Brussels-based outlet Politico has openly expressed concern over the dismissal of Kraków’s mayor in a referendum, describing it as “a major setback for Donald Tusk.”
A successful referendum
More than 176,000 residents of Kraków took part in Sunday’s referendum. For the referendum concerning the mayor to be legally binding, turnout needed to reach nearly 160,000 voters, while in the case of the city council, the threshold was nearly 180,000 votes.
The referendum concerning the mayor was successful. Nearly 172,000 people (almost 98 percent) voted in favor of dismissing Aleksander Miszalski, while close to 4,000 people (just over 2 percent) voted against. In the case of the city council, turnout was insufficient. More than 168,000 people (over 96 percent) voted in favor of dismissing the council, while nearly 7,000 (almost 4 percent) voted against.
It is a major defeat for Donald Tusk, something also noted by Politico, as Miszalski had been put forward in Kraków’s 2024 local elections following a personal decision by the leader of the Civic Coalition.
“Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suffered a major setback on Sunday as voters in Kraków overwhelmingly backed a right-wing campaign to remove liberal Mayor Aleksander Miszalski — a result that could inspire similar efforts elsewhere in Poland,”
Politico wrote.
And this already appears to be happening. On Monday, Jacek Strojny, leader of the Together for Rzeszów association and deputy chairman of the city council, announced that he would file a motion for a referendum to dismiss Konrad Fijołek. According to Strojny, the council’s vote on the referendum resolution will be “a test of courage” for council members.