Polish Politician Confidence Levels: August CBOS Findings
The latest CBOS survey places President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and the Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak at the top of the August politician confidence ranking. In contrast, Donald Tusk, the leader of the PO, occupies the lowest position in terms of trust versus mistrust among the same group of named politicians. The mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, is noted as enjoying the highest level of confidence among opposition figures according to the same poll.
Month over month, the August results show an uptick in the share of respondents who express trust, while the number of groups voicing distrust toward all United Right politicians covered in the survey decreases. Conversely, opposition figures show the opposite pattern: more distrust and a smaller portion of respondents declaring trust compared with July. The CBOS commentary highlights this shift in its assessment of the August data.
In August, as in July, President Andrzej Duda leads the trust rankings with 54 percent of respondents expressing confidence in him and 35 percent indicating distrust. The share of those who feel confident rose by eight percentage points from July, while the proportion expressing no confidence declined by seven points.
Second place goes to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, trusted by 43 percent of those surveyed, with 44 percent expressing distrust. The study notes that Morawiecki recorded the most notable positive swing in public sentiment among senior government officials, with confidence rising by eight points and distrust dropping by nine points versus the prior month.
The third spot is occupied by Mariusz Błaszczak, the head of the Ministry of National Defense, who was trusted by 39 percent of respondents and distrusted by 34 percent.
Rising in the rankings, Rafał Trzaskowski and Jarosław Kaczyński each show 38 percent confidence in the August data. Among Trzaskowski’s backers, 42 percent express distrust, while 50 percent distrust Kaczyński. The August results reveal different trajectories for these two figures when compared with July. Trzaskowski’s trust declined by seven points, and distrust increased by five points. Meanwhile, Kaczyński recorded a seven-point uptick in confidence and a nine-point drop in distrust.
Other party leaders perform differently: Szymon Hołownia of Poland 2050 scores 33 percent trust and 42 percent distrust; Zbigniew Ziobro of Sovereign Poland shows 31 percent trust and 50 percent distrust; Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz of PSL has 29 percent trust and 32 percent distrust. Donald Tusk, leader of PO, receives 27 percent trust and 54 percent distrust, with confidence down seven points since July and distrust up by two points.
Among the left, Włodzimierz Czarzasty draws 22 percent trust and 31 percent distrust, while Adrian Zandberg records 18 percent trust and 21 percent distrust. Sławomir Mentzen of the Confederation shows 13 percent trust and 30 percent distrust. A sizable portion of respondents indicated they did not know these two leaders, with 46 percent for Zandberg and 44 percent for Mentzen.
Nearly half of the respondents, 49 percent, indicated they did not know the Minister of Agriculture, Robert Telus. Trust stands at 21 percent and distrust at 18 percent. The survey also includes government ministers Marlena Maląg, Jacek Sasin, and Mariusz Kamiński with varying levels of trust and mistrust: Maląg at 28 percent trust and 17 percent mistrust, Sasin at 26 percent trust and 43 percent mistrust, and Kamiński showing 24 percent distrust and 29 percent mistrust.
Confidence in Elżbieta Witek, the Marshal of the Sejm, sits at 35 percent with 31 percent distrust. Tomasz Grodzki, the Marshal of the Senate, draws 22 percent trust and 37 percent distrust among respondents, reflecting a generally cautious public view toward the upper houses of parliament.
Poles continue to display a broadly critical attitude toward the political class. In August, as in previous waves of CBOS polling, the majority of politicians covered by the study tend to inspire more distrust than trust among respondents. There are five out of eighteen figures who do not follow this pattern, illustrating the ongoing complexity of public opinion.
In the summary framing, Duda stands out as the strongest performer in balancing trust and mistrust among the studied leaders. Several ministers and the marshal of the Sejm also show a positive balance, though the overall public mood remains cautious about national leadership.
The survey was conducted via a mixed-mode approach on a representative sample of adult residents drawn from the PESEL registry, spanning August 14 to 27 of the current year. The sample included 1024 participants, reflecting a cross-section of the Polish electorate.
For more insights from CBOS surveys, researchers emphasize that public perceptions of trust and distrust toward political figures can shift rapidly with events and policy debates. The August results reinforce the ongoing pattern of cautious public sentiment in Poland, with trust concentrated among a narrow group of central government figures and broad skepticism toward opposition leadership.