“There was no “deal” with Sejm Marshal Szymon Hołownia regarding support for his candidacy for the position of UN High Commissioner for Refugees,” President Karol Nawrocki said on Tuesday on Radio Zet. He assured that he will support Polish candidates for various positions on the international stage.
Supporting All Polish Candidates
In Tuesday’s conversation on Radio Zet, President Karol Nawrocki was asked whether he had “lobbied” on behalf of Hołownia, who announced that he had submitted an application in the public recruitment announced by the UN Secretary-General for the position of UN High Commissioner for Refugees, during his visit last week to the UN Security Council summit in New York. Nawrocki responded that he had “lobbied for all Polish candidates” – regardless of whether he agreed with their views or not. “That is what the President of Poland is for, to support Polish candidates at the UN,” Nawrocki emphasized. He said that Hołownia has “non-political experience” in humanitarian issues and refugee matters. He added that Poland should have a UN High Commissioner for Refugees, at least because of its experience in this area since 2022. “We have over a million Ukrainians in Poland; the Central European perspective would certainly be an added value at the UN,” Nawrocki assessed.
He also assured that there was no “deal” between him and Hołownia involving support for the marshal’s UN candidacy in exchange for support by the Polska 2050 Party parliamentary club for the presidential project regarding CPK – which last week was referred to work in the Sejm committee.
“There was no ‘deal,’ I support Polish candidates, I will support Polish candidates on the international stage, and by the way, I believe that Marshal Hołownia is fully qualified for this role,” Nawrocki assured.
The president was also asked whether he felt he owed a “debt of gratitude” to the Sejm Marshal for “facilitating” his inauguration as president in August this year.
“This is not about facilitating an inauguration; in a democratic country, someone who wins the presidential election is sworn in. That seems like a normal thing,” he assessed.