This marks another statement from the Civic Coalition candidate for the presidency of the Republic of Poland. Rafał Trzaskowski stated that there are no formal rules governing the conduct and financing of pre-campaign activity. He added that when he travels as mayor of Warsaw the trips are treated as official duties; if a journey lies outside the scope of that role, he covers the costs himself. The distinction is meant to clarify responsibility. In a recent press conference he faced renewed questions about financing, including the rental of rooms used for meetings with voters and whether conducting a campaign would not negatively affect his ability to perform his duties as Warsaw’s mayor. He argued that not only he but also other presidential hopefuls Szymon Hołownia of Polska2050 and Karol Nawrocki, a candidate backed by PiS, would continue to carry out their official functions. Such questions have recurred in every prior campaign, including those involving the President and the Prime Minister. It is clear that politicians keep their duties uninterrupted. However, if campaigning consumes most of the day and Nawrocki has discussed similar issues, that could be treated as taking vacation.
I meet with local government officials
Trzaskowski noted that the pre-campaign period has not yet formally started and that it remains outside the scope of any formal regulation. When an election campaign starts to take definitive shape, there are clear rules. The controversy in recent years involved claims that PiS breached campaign rules using taxpayers’ money. At the moment there are no such regulations. He has implemented his own guidelines that apply when he acts as President of Warsaw: he meets with local government officials, participates in meetings of the Union of Polish Metropolises, attends gatherings of the Council of Polish Cities, and continues to lead the city. He added that on Friday he would travel to Krakow for a meeting of the Union of Polish Metropolises, framing it as a business trip, and on Saturday in Gliwice he would invite everyone to December 7, when KO would begin a pre-campaign phase, with fuel costs paid personally. Wherever he is as mayor, he goes there on business; outside that role, he pays out of pocket. When asked who covers hall rental, he stated that sometimes local government officials invite him, sometimes Civic Coalition activists, and sometimes private individuals, and they pay for the hall. These are the rules adopted. Once the election campaign begins, the campaign regime comes into effect and is regulated by law.
Elections in May. The question concerns a specific date
The presidential campaign will begin only after the Sejm Chairman’s decision to organize elections is published in the Journal of Laws. Hołownia announced that he would set the election date on January 8, that the campaign would formally begin after the publication of his decision, and that financing the expenses of registered electoral commissions would have to come from personal resources. The financial resources of a candidate’s electoral committee may come exclusively from contributions from Polish citizens with permanent residence permits in Poland, from electoral funds of political parties, and from bank loans contracted for electoral purposes.