“We’re going for a record” — that was the slogan of Akcja Demokracja’s 2019 voter turnout campaign, which received vocal support from Rafał Trzaskowski. The very same Trzaskowski who now distances himself from the foundation’s recent smear campaign targeting Karol Nawrocki and Sławomir Mentzen.
Trzaskowski Shifts Blame to Russia
On Thursday, it was revealed that the foundation Akcja Demokracja was behind an online hate campaign defaming Karol Nawrocki and Sławomir Mentzen — a campaign that implicitly supported Rafał Trzaskowski. The organization is headed by Jakub Kocjan, a former assistant to an MP from the Civic Coalition and a staunch supporter of the party.
In response, the Civic Platform vice-chairman’s campaign team issued a statement attempting to disassociate themselves from the campaign and its initiator. However, as previously reported, they did not remove photos confirming the relationship between the Akcja Demokracja leader and Civic Coalition politicians — including Trzaskowski himself.
The Warsaw mayor eventually spoke out about the situation in an interview with Polsat News, astonishingly blaming… Russia for the campaign promoting his candidacy.
“That the Russians would interfere in our campaign was obvious from the very beginning,” he claimed.
Trzaskowski Once Joined the “Record” Campaign
It is worth recalling the words of Rafał Trzaskowski from five years ago, when he publicly endorsed Akcja Demokracja’s voter mobilization initiative.
The organization — which then included, and is now led by, Jakub Kocjan — launched the “We’re going for a record” campaign ahead of the 2019 local elections. The goal was to boost turnout to at least 60%, thereby “changing the face” of Polish politics — in other words, to help oust the Law and Justice (PiS) party.
At the time, Trzaskowski made a passionate call:
“We’re going for a record! Akcja Demokracja — we accept the challenge! Varsovians, let’s beat the 67% turnout from the previous local elections! The City of Warsaw offers: on the weekend after the vote (October 19–20), selected cultural institutions and sports facilities will be free of charge. What are you offering your fellow Varsovians, your friends, yourself? What about other cities? Gdańsk, Łódź, Bydgoszcz, Poznań — ready to compete? Hanna Zdanowska, Rafał Bruski, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Jacek Jaśkowiak — #idziemynarekord60procent — I believe that with full mobilization, we can do even more!”
The October 2019 post remains available on Trzaskowski’s official Facebook page.
And that’s not all — there is also a video recording documenting his endorsement.