The mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, has long been assumed to be the favourite to be Civic Coalition's candidate in the crucial 2025 presidential elections. Consistently ranked high in opinion polls and with a small negative electorate and a non-confrontational style, Trzaskowski has appeared to be a candidate who could effectively garner wavering voters.
However, Poland's foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski has now thrown his hat in the ring. With his many years of experience as both minister of defence and foreign minister, his "CV" looks a little stronger for the role of president.
Sikorski's political career in Poland was derailed by the "SOWA restaurant bugging" scandal, where he was recorded making undiplomatic remarks about international counterparts and (what was perhaps more damaging to his reputation in Poland) witnessed enjoying expensive seafood. (There have since been suggestions in the media that Russia was behind the bugging operation.)
However, recent surveys from CBOS show the current foreign minister regaining the trust of public opinion, with 39% trusting him and 32% not trusting him (compared to Rafał Trzaskowski's 46% trust level and 35% "don't trust" figure.)
Sources: PAP, Business Insider
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