Speaking at a press conference in the eastern city of Lublin on Wednesday, Hołownia described Mentzen's hard-right Confederation party as extremist and unpredictable, vowing to defeat it in the upcoming election.
Hołownia, the lower-house Speaker and the presidential contender for the centrist Third Way alliance, criticized the Polish far-right for its approach to Ukraine.
"Some figures linked to Confederation, from what I hear, openly push a pro-Russian narrative," he said, noting that the radical end of the political spectrum is represented in the upcoming presidential election by two candidates—Mentzen and European Parliament member Grzegorz Braun, who has been expelled from the Confederation party.
Hołownia also referenced Mentzen’s controversial "five-point plan," which the far-right politician outlined several years ago.
In a 2019 public appearance in Kraków, Mentzen said: "We don’t want Jews, homosexuals, abortion, taxes, or the European Union. This resonates best with our voters, which is why they want to listen to us and why they want to vote for us."
While Mentzen later distanced himself from the statement, Hołownia questioned the sincerity of his retraction.
"He claimed later that this no longer applies, but how can I be sure of that? And what about the 100 laws he was supposed to introduce — where are they? Is this still his vision for the presidency, or not?" Hołownia said.
He argued that a Confederation-led government would mean "absolute terror for Polish women," recalling that the party played a key role in pushing for a stricter abortion ban through Poland's Constitutional Tribunal.
With nationalist movements gaining strength across Europe, Hołownia warned against electing a radical candidate. He described Poland as "an oasis of stability and reason" and said the country should not "risk dangerous experiments" such as a Confederation presidency.
"We don’t need experiments today," he said. "We don’t need someone who would dismantle the healthcare system by making insurance completely voluntary, or who would question women’s rights and Poland’s place in the West. Right now, we either remain in the West, or the East will claim us."
Despite polls showing Mentzen ahead of Hołownia and firmly in third place, Hołownia dismissed concerns, arguing that the race is still open with three months to go before the vote.
"In 2023, three months before the parliamentary elections, Confederation was popping champagne and throwing confetti, convinced they would govern Poland," Hołownia said. "Three months later, we saw where they ended up. It will be the same this time."
He declined to reveal his strategy for defeating Mentzen, saying only: "He’ll find out. I don’t just plan to beat him—I plan to win this election in a fair fight."
Poland’s presidential election is scheduled for May 18, with a potential runoff on June 1 if no candidate wins an outright majority.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP