By Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz
WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland’s two presidential hopefuls, who are seeking to broaden their appeal ahead of a June 1 run-off vote, received lists of demands on Tuesday from two far-right politicians who gained the support of more than a fifth of voters in Sunday’s first round.
Centrist frontrunner Rafal Trzaskowski and his nationalist opponent Karol Nawrocki would need to gain a chunk of the votes that went to far-right candidates to have a chance of victory. But the behaviour of these mainly young and anti-establishment voters is hard to predict.
In particular Trzaskowski, from the ruling Civic Coalition (KO), could face a tricky balancing act as he tries to reach out to people who backed far-right Confederation party leader Slawomir Mentzen without alienating left-wing or centrist Poles.
Trzaskowski, who is currently Warsaw’s mayor, has won the endorsement of Magdalena Biejat of the Left, who scored 4.2% on Sunday, and Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia from the centre-right Poland 2050, who scored 5.0%.
Both Biejat and Holownia are part of the ruling coalition.
Left-wing candidate Adrian Zandberg, who got 4.9%, and veteran socialist Joanna Senyszyn, who despite only scoring 1.1% has taken on a new lease of life as a TikTok sensation, have not endorsed anyone.
In a recorded message, Mentzen, who finished third in the first round with 14.8%, said on Tuesday he would invite Trzaskowski and Nawrocki to take part in a debate on his YouTube channel.
“During the conversation, I will ask you to sign a declaration in line with the expectations of my voters,” he said.
The declaration included promises not to raise taxes, not to limit freedom of speech, not to send Polish troops to Ukraine or allow Ukraine to join NATO, not to transfer powers to the European Union, and not to limit Poles’ ability to carry weapons.
‘SERIOUS OFFER’
Asked about Mentzen’s invitation to a debate, Nawrocki, who is backed by opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), told a news conference it was “a serious offer from a candidate who wants to talk about the future of Poland before giving his support”, adding he should talk to Mentzen about an endorsement.
Trzaskowski told reporters he had not yet made a decision on taking part in the debate.
Trzaskowski won 31.4% of the vote in Sunday’s first round, while Nawrocki got 29.5%.
Another far-right politician, Grzegorz Braun, who finished fourth on Sunday with 6.3%, also published a list of questions on Tuesday for Trzaskowski and Nawrocki.
These include whether they would stop the “Ukrainisation” of Poland – a reference to the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the neighbouring country – reject the EU’s migration pact and Green Deal climate-change policies, oppose abortion and cease Hanukkah celebrations in the presidential palace.
Braun caused international outrage in 2023 when he used a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in Poland’s parliament.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Peter Graff and Gareth Jones)
