An extraordinary session of the city council is scheduled for Friday to address what has been described in the media as the garbage scandal. The Mayor of Warsaw was not present at the meeting, which was convened by lawmakers from the Law and Justice party. In a discussion with the wPolityce.pl portal, Law and Justice MP Paweł Lisiecki criticized the mayor, saying that Rafał Trzaskowski avoids difficult situations and often remains away when tough times hit the city.
The mayor’s absence at the council table adds to the perception that he cannot handle challenges, especially those arising from people close to him. When the city faces pressure, Trzaskowski is seen as stepping back rather than taking a firm stance.
Rafał Trzaskowski is known for rarely attending meetings of the Council of the capital, and this episode marks another instance where, despite an extraordinary situation tied to a corruption inquiry, he did not occupy a seat at the session.
Pawel Lisiecki emphasizes
Still uphill
According to Lisiecki, who helped initiate the extraordinary session, participants did not receive any justification or explanation from the mayor about his absence from the city hall that day. The lack of clarification has raised questions about the level of accountability expected from the mayor in a moment of heightened scrutiny.
Instead, the defense of the session’s agenda fell to one of the vice presidents, Michał Olszewski, who typically attends Warsaw City Council meetings. Lisiecki argues that this arrangement signals a broader pattern: there is a high-level municipal bribery case, and the so-called garbage scandal does not hold the same weight for Trzaskowski as it might for others in senior positions.
According to Lisiecki, Trzaskowski has a reputation for avoiding difficult situations. He notes that the mayor is often more focused on long-term political ambitions at the national or European level than on dealing with current city issues, where controversy could impact his broader political trajectory. Lisiecki contends that this tendency to sidestep controversy may reflect a strategic calculation about the mayor’s career beyond Warsaw.
– Lisiecki concludes that the mayor’s actions are consistent with a pattern where the immediate political cost is weighed against potential future benefits, which may explain the decision to skip the session.
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Source: wPolityce