Trust in Polish Leaders: February IBRiS Poll Highlights
A February IBRiS survey conducted for Onet paints a clear picture of public trust in Poland’s top political figures. Rafał Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw, leads the trust rankings with 51.1 percent of respondents expressing trust. Among them, 17.8 percent said they are certain, while 33.3 percent indicated they are inclined to trust him. This marks a 3.7-point rise from January, signaling that Trzaskowski has crossed the symbolic 50 percent threshold and joined a small circle of Polish politicians who have reached or surpassed that level in the Onet-IBRiS series since 2015. Historical peers who achieved similar trust levels in previous periods include Andrzej Duda, Łukasz Szumowski, and Szymon Hołownia.
The same survey shows that 39.5 percent of respondents do not trust Trzaskowski, up 1.9 points from January. An additional 9.4 percent remain indifferent. This shift suggests a modest tightening of overall trust in the mayor, even as a net segment continues to express confidence.
In second place in the trust rankings sits Szymon Hołownia, with 48.1 percent of respondents expressing trust. Of these, 21.8 percent are certain and 26.3 percent are inclined to trust him. Hołownia’s level of trust fell by 6.3 points since January, accompanied by a rise in distrust to 42.6 percent and a 14.7-point increase in indifference to 8.8 percent. These movements indicate meaningful volatility in public opinion around Hołownia’s leadership profile.
President Andrzej Duda occupies third place in trust, with 40.9 percent of respondents indicating trust. Among them, 26.5 percent are certain, and 14.4 percent are inclined to trust. This marks a 0.4-point decrease from the previous month. A notable portion of the population, 50.6 percent, reported no trust in the president, up 2.7 points, while 8.5 percent expressed indifference, down 1.8 points.
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of National Defense, rounds out the top tier with 39.2 percent trust. This figure reflects a 3.5-point decline from January. On the distrust side, 34.6 percent do not trust him, with 25 percent expressing indifference, up 4.4 points from the previous month.
Fifth place goes to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, trusted by 37.6 percent of respondents, down 1.3 points from January. Overall, 46 percent do not trust the prime minister, a slight decrease of 1.9 points, while 16.4 percent are indifferent, up 3.2 points.
Mateusz Morawiecki, the former prime minister, sits just behind in the rankings with 37.5 percent trust, down 0.9 points. Distrust among respondents reached 55.5 percent, rising 4.6 points, and 7 percent expressed indifference, a decline of 2.6 points from the prior month.
Other notable figures in the top ten include Justice Minister Adam Bodnar at 35.1 percent trust (up 5.3 points), Włodzimierz Tsaristy, co-chair of the New Left and vice-chair of the Sejm, at 34.6 percent (up 3.1 points), Sejm deputy Piotr Zgorzelski at 34 percent (down 1.4 points), and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski at 33.9 percent (up 0.4 points).
By contrast, the highest level of distrust is directed at PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński, with 63.1 percent of respondents not trusting him. This is followed by Zbigniew Ziobro, distrusted by 59.8 percent; Sławomir Mentzen at 57.7 percent distrust; Mateusz Morawiecki at 55.5 percent distrust; and Robert Biedroń, the New Left co-chairman, at 51.6 percent distrust.
The February 23–24, 2024 survey was conducted by IBRiS using a national sample of about 1,100 adults contacted by telephone with standardized computer-assisted interviews (CATI).
These figures reflect shifts in public sentiment across Poland’s governing and opposition figures, illustrating how political support can skew toward certain leaders while others face growing skepticism or ambivalence. The broader implications feed into ongoing analyses of party dynamics, policy reception, and leadership perception ahead of future political cycles.
Source note: ongoing polling insights compiled from IBRiS data shared with Onet and subsequently summarized for broader public understanding.