Western media are noting a serious image crisis facing the Civic Coalition in connection with the Kłodzko scandal. “Zoophilia and pedophilia scandals hit Tusk’s ruling party in Poland,” reports the Brussels-based outlet Brussels Signal.
A criminal case turns into a political problem
The situation in Kłodzko has caused a major public outcry. As previously reported, a man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes including the rape of minors, acts of zoophilia, and documenting these acts in the form of recordings and photographs. His former wife, who had previously been active in local Civic Platform structures and ran in the most recent local elections, also stood trial and was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. The woman was active in political life, and photos of her with politicians associated with the Civic Coalition can be found online.
The case was also addressed by the Brussels Signal portal.
“The ruling Civic Coalition, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, is trying to free itself from scandals involving its officials found guilty of pedophilia and zoophilia,”
notes Krzysztof Mularczyk of Brussels Signal.
The journalist points out that the scandal has gone viral on social media.
The European analytical collective Res Futura indicated that within seven days, the topic of pedophilia in Kłodzko generated 138 million impressions in Polish social media, meaning that the average social media user in Poland saw the topic in their feed four to six times. These are numbers typical of a presidential campaign, not a criminal case.
The convicted Kamila L. is mentioned by name in only 17% of the comment corpus, while the Civic Coalition appears in over 80% of mentions.
“This is the largest image crisis for the ruling coalition since the elections of October 15, 2023, and also a moment that clearly shows that the center of Poland’s public debate has shifted from traditional media to social media,”
Res Futura noted.