After losing the presidential election, Rafał Trzaskowski is apparently looking for new inspiration for managing Warsaw in the coming years. As is typical for a politician from Civic Platform (KO), he turned toward the “European model” of Germany – inviting Berlin’s mayor, who became known, among other things, for playing tennis during a blackout, to a discussion.
Trzaskowski’s “experts” from Berlin for managing Warsaw
Rafał Trzaskowski often speaks about “European standards,” cooperation, and modern urban governance. It is therefore no surprise that he invited the “model” mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, to a debate on these issues – a figure praised by the liberal establishment. The event took place at the Warsaw School of Economics and concerned the “social and infrastructural challenges of European cities.”
It sounds serious. The problem is that Wegner’s achievements in this field are крайне modest. In recent years, Berlin has been struggling with a growing accumulation of problems that city authorities have been unable to effectively manage: from rising crime and the brutalization of public life, including record levels of violence and incidents at stations and in public spaces, through a sharp increase in politically motivated crimes and social tensions related to migration, to a deepening housing and economic crisis that makes access to housing more difficult and destabilizes the real estate market. On top of that come infrastructure and security issues, symbolized by a recent paralyzing blackout affecting tens of thousands of residents, as well as chaos in transport policy and a regression in the development of modern urban mobility – all of which together create an image of a city facing a multidimensional governance crisis.
Berlin without power, the mayor on the court
When Berlin was plunged into a blackout, thousands of people were left without electricity. Chaos, disorganization, a real crisis. Basic services were not functioning, residents were left without information, and emergency services were under enormous pressure. In such a situation, one natural expectation arises – full mobilization of the city authorities and the personal involvement of its leader. And what was the mayor doing at the time? He was playing tennis.
German media revealed that Kai Wegner, instead of being at the crisis management center, appeared on a tennis court. While residents were trying to cope with a dangerous situation, he was spending time on a sporting activity. Later explanations that he “coordinated actions by phone” only deepened the impression of chaos and a lack of responsibility. It was, admittedly, a brief episode, as he returned to work after about an hour, but it is hard not to see in this situation a symbolic image of an approach to responsibility in a moment of crisis.
And it is precisely such a figure who stands alongside Rafał Trzaskowski as a partner for discussion on the security and resilience of cities.
Internet users aptly point out that for the Mayor of Warsaw, political PR and the “European label” seem to matter more than real competence and responsibility. Because it is difficult to talk about crisis management with someone who, during a crisis… is on a tennis court.
Is it really the case that among Civic Platform (KO) politicians there are no local government officials who rise to the occasion in times of crisis instead of disappearing from view?