Talks regarding the upcoming presidential debate in Końskie have begun at the headquarters of the liquidated Polish public broadcaster, TVP. Security guards at the government-run station refused to let in representatives from Telewizja Republika. They even disrupted a live broadcast!
At 12:00 PM, the campaign teams of Rafał Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki were scheduled to meet to discuss the debate planned for Friday between the two candidates. Trzaskowski, the Civic Coalition (KO) candidate, had called on Nawrocki to join him in a debate aired by the largest TV stations in Poland, and Republika stepped up to the challenge. Tensions rose at TVP’s headquarters on Woronicza Street when Republika representatives arrived, ready to co-organize the debate as the largest news station in Poland.
Karol Nawrocki’s campaign staff were also present, demanding that five TV stations — including Republika and wPolsce24 — be involved in broadcasting the debate.
Wioletta Paprocka, head of Rafał Trzaskowski’s campaign team, arrived at the headquarters of the now-liquidated state-owned TVP earlier in the day. Adrian Borecki, a reporter for Telewizja Republika, asked her if she supported the presence of the Free Speech Zone station at the debate.
“Ms. Wioletta, are you in favor or not?” Borecki asked — but received no answer.
Later, while reporting live for Republika, Borecki was interrupted by a TVP security guard who tried to block the broadcast. “This is supposed to be public television, isn’t it?” Borecki asked, as the guard stood in front of the camera, blocking the view. At least the guard himself was clearly visible on screen…
Mr. Sygut, who is allegedly running the illegally controlled public broadcaster, serves on the board of a company that previously managed Warsaw’s public buses. I spoke with MP Jaskulski and the situation is quite interesting: when asked who was organizing the debate, he replied it was Telewizja Polska. So TVP is organizing a debate at the request of Rafał Trzaskowski? It’s becoming clear how this arrangement between the three networks is working. — Borecki reported, despite the obstacles.
Later, Michał Rachoń and Jarosław Olechowski from Republika arrived at the illegally taken-over TVP headquarters, only to be denied entry to the meeting about the debate.
“We want to sit down, talk about the terms, how this is supposed to look — and we want to show it on air,” said Jarosław Olechowski.