Speaking during a campaign stop in the southern city of Czeladź, Trzaskowski, called for a return to a values-based approach to politics, warning that without empathy and solidarity, political life risks becoming empty ideology.
Speaking in the town’s main square, Trzaskowski said that the role of politicians should be to facilitate dialogue, especially in divisive times.
"I promise and guarantee that I will fight for us to recover the basic ability to engage in dialogue and rebuild community," he told the crowd.
The mayor of Warsaw and centrist-liberal Civic Platform politician positioned himself as a potential "arbiter of disputes," saying a president should be above party squabbles and ready to listen to all sides.
“We need a president who won’t play on emotions or incite fear, but instead seeks to bring people together,” he said on Tuesday.
Trzaskowski's remarks followed the death of Pope Francis, which he referenced in the context of values.
The pope, he said, had taught compassion and solidarity – qualities he argued are essential not just to faith but to politics itself.
"Without values, without solidarity, without empathy, politics often becomes an empty ideology," Trzaskowski said.
He described Poland as experiencing a "crisis of values," one he said is felt most acutely by young people. However, he argued that such values cannot be imposed from above through school curricula or political force.
"Values unite us only when they are real—when they connect to our lived experience," he said.
Reflecting on Poland’s past, Trzaskowski pointed to moments of national unity following wars, the 2010 presidential plane crash near Smolensk, western Russia, and the death of Pope John Paul II, arguing that such solidarity remains vital in challenging times.
"Today, we are again living through difficult times, and we need basic values and the ability to talk to one another," he said.
Trzaskowski also recalled standing "on the barricades" in recent years alongside local leaders to defend teachers, junior doctors and sexual minorities from what he described as attacks by the previous right-wing government.
"In tough times, you have to lead by example. We did that, not with slogans or symbols, but with hard work,” he said.
On policy, he emphasized that economic and energy transitions in Poland's southern coal-mining region of Silesia, must be carried out fairly and result in new jobs.
He called for a firm stance toward European Union regulations while stressing that Poland’s security and prosperity are ultimately guaranteed by EU membership.
The candidate’s visit to Silesia is part of a wider campaign tour of the region.
On Wednesday, Trzaskowski is scheduled to speak at the European Economic Congress in Katowice.
Later in the day, he is expected to visit the Częstochowa Steelworks and meet with local residents.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP