“Civic Platform is losing power in its strongholds,” “Time to do a ‘Zabrze’ in Warsaw,” “Yesterday Zabrze, on Sunday a yellow card for Tusk’s government across Poland” – that’s how politicians reacted online to the ousting of Mayor Rupniewska. Karol Nawrocki went even further, urging voters to show Tusk a “red card” in Sunday’s elections.
On Sunday, residents of Zabrze voted to remove their Civic Platform-affiliated mayor, Agnieszka Rupniewska, from office. According to official results, nearly 93 percent of those participating in the local referendum supported her dismissal before the end of her term. While Rupniewska will leave her post, the city council remains intact. The result sparked a wave of political commentary – notably only from one side, as Civic Platform representatives have remained silent.
“Zabrze has had enough of Agnieszka Rupniewska from Civic Platform! Zabrze yesterday, and on Sunday let’s show Tusk’s government a yellow card across the country,” wrote former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (Law and Justice, PiS) on X.
🚨 𝐙𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐳𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐞𝐝𝐳𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐢 𝐝𝐨𝐬́𝐜́ 𝐀𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐳𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐩𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐣 𝐳 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐲!
— Mateusz Morawiecki (@MorawieckiM) May 12, 2025
Wczoraj Zabrze, a w niedzielę w całej Polsce pokażmy żółtą kartkę rządowi Tuska. pic.twitter.com/Fy4nkVSG1O
Mariusz Błaszczak, head of the PiS parliamentary club and former Defense Minister, also expressed his enthusiasm, quoting a modified lyric from a Czesław Niemen song on social media: “You’ll see how beautifully the day in Zabrze greets us… Zabrze residents have made their views on Civic Platform clear. On May 18, the whole country will do the same!” – wrote Błaszczak.
„Zobaczysz jak przywita pięknie nas
— Mariusz Błaszczak (@mblaszczak) May 12, 2025
zabrzański dzień…”
Zabrzanie pokazali co sądzą o Platformie Obywatelskiej. 18 maja pokażą to wszyscy Polacy!
The reference to Niemen’s song also pointed to Warsaw – a city directly invoked by Janusz Kowalski, who took aim at its mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski: “Time to do a ‘Zabrze’ in Warsaw – and use a local referendum to remove Rafał Trzaskowski, Tusk’s deputy, from his position as mayor of the capital,” Kowalski wrote, sharing a video statement alongside his post.
❌ Czas zrobić Zabrze w Warszawie i w referendum lokalnym odwołać wiceTuska Rafała Trzaskowskiego z funkcji prezydenta miasta stołecznego Warszawy❗️ pic.twitter.com/Q5XdVCrVSH
— Janusz Kowalski 🇵🇱 (@JKowalski_posel) May 12, 2025