Today’s resignations of two of Rafał Trzaskowski’s deputy mayors and Donald Tusk’s statement were intended to calm public outrage following the scandal at Warsaw’s Southern Hospital. However, there are many indications that these moves will not resolve the matter, and Civic Platform (KO) will continue to struggle with the stigma of this appalling scandal. In an interview with Niezalezna.pl, the head of the Law and Justice (PiS) group in the Warsaw City Council, Dariusz Figura, and social activist Jan Śpiewak agreed that today’s decisions are insufficient and came far too late. They also pointed to the need for political accountability from the head of Civic Platform’s (KO) Warsaw structures, Marcin Kierwiński, and Rafał Trzaskowski.
Trzaskowski and Tusk try to put out the fire
Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski announced today that he had accepted the resignations of two of his deputy mayors – Renata Kaznowska and Aldona Machnowska-Góra. Renata Kaznowska was responsible, among other things, for healthcare and health policy, while Aldona Machnowska-Góra served on the supervisory board of Southern Hospital.
Trzaskowski assured the public that he had instructed the heads of the city’s medical institutions to review all complaints and troubling reports once again. “There must be zero tolerance for crooks and fraudsters. They must be tracked down and ruthlessly eliminated,” he said.
Commenting on the Southern Hospital scandal, Donald Tusk said that it is “now a matter for the prosecutor’s office.” He referred to “the consequences resulting from the audit and inspection,” emphasizing that resignations had already taken place “at various levels among those responsible for the situation at Southern Hospital, including two deputy mayors of Warsaw.”
He also said that he had asked the Minister of Health and the National Health Fund (NFZ) for recommendations on the matter, while arguing that the irregularities uncovered at Southern Hospital were the responsibility of “individual doctors” and “a flawed system.”
Too little and too late
Speaking to Niezalezna.pl, Dariusz Figura, chairman of the Law and Justice (PiS) group in the Warsaw City Council, said that the scandal involving shocking irregularities at Southern Hospital “has not been resolved in any way.”
“Too little and too late. Motions calling for the dismissal of these individuals were rejected just a week ago by Civic Platform (KO) councillors,” he recalled.
“There should also be motions seeking the dismissal of Deputy Mayor Tomasz Męcina, as well as motions to remove Ewa Malinowska-Grupińska and Ewa Janczar from their positions, because both of these figures are also implicated in this scandal,” he said.
According to Figura, the Southern Hospital scandal cannot be contained by dismissing officials whom “most people in Poland have never even heard of, because they are known mainly in Warsaw.”
“This scandal is spreading further and further. The first line of defense consisted of the deputy mayors, and that barrier has now been broken. But it is obvious that responsibility in this case should extend much higher. We already know that Mayor Trzaskowski was aware of this scandal much earlier – a year ago – and did nothing. The question is therefore about his political responsibility,” Dariusz Figura explained.
“On the other hand, it is well known that the entire Warsaw octopus network of Civic Platform (KO) is overseen by Minister Marcin ‘Rumour’ Kierwiński. Such a network, which protected Dawid Kacprzyk, could not have existed in Warsaw without his knowledge and approval. Yet once again, Prime Minister Tusk has shown zero reaction,” concluded the head of the Law and Justice (PiS) group in the Warsaw City Council.
Dissolve Civic Platform (KO) in Warsaw
Warsaw-based social activist Jan Śpiewak described Trzaskowski’s decision to accept the resignations of his two deputy mayors as “throwing two deputy mayors to the wolves.” Like Dariusz Figura, he believes that “it is too little and too late.”
“Kierwiński should be removed, and above all, Civic Platform’s (KO) structures in Warsaw should be dissolved, just as happened after the referendum in Kraków,” he told Niezalezna.pl.
“This is the result of twenty years of one-party rule in Warsaw, and the responsibility falls on Kierwiński, who heads Warsaw’s Civic Platform (KO) structures,” he added.
Asked whether today’s resignations were intended to shield Rafał Trzaskowski from responsibility as the prospect of a recall referendum looms over him, Jan Śpiewak pointed to “the problem that Warsaw lacks a strong opposition willing to become involved in such an initiative.”
“The number of signatures required is enormous, and it will be very difficult to hold such a referendum in Warsaw. I certainly support such a referendum, but it seems that if Civic Platform (KO) is to face any consequences, they are more likely to come at the national level than in Warsaw,” he said.
“I would remind everyone that even the reprivatization scandal failed to weaken Civic Platform’s (KO) position. They have taken over Warsaw in an unbelievable way, and it is astonishing how far their tentacles reach. It is therefore difficult to believe that anything will change now if there is no strong opposition capable of competing with them on equal terms. At the moment, there is no sign of that,” Jan Śpiewak concluded.