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Government official slams Polish ruling coalition after election loss

05.06.2025 14:00
Deputy Education Minister Joanna Mucha has sharply criticized her government coalition allies for what she described as a strategic failure in Poland's presidential election.
Joanna Mucha is an aconomist and former sports minister with a PhD in health economics. She has long been active in academia as a university lecturer.
Joanna Mucha is an aconomist and former sports minister with a PhD in health economics. She has long been active in academia as a university lecturer. Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak

The politician, a member of the centrist Third Way alliance, said in a widely shared Facebook post that the ruling camp “never conducted a serious strategic analysis” and acted as if victory was simply “owed” to them.

She praised the rival opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party for its disciplined campaign strategy, calling the defeat “a chronicle of a foretold failure.”

Mucha contrasted PiS’s methodical approach - including message testing, candidate vetting and tailored campaign messaging - with what she described as the governing Civic Coalition’s “complacency and arrogance.”

The politician accused her party of ignoring polling data and relying on advisers who had "lost every campaign they’ve ever run."

Dzisiejsze komentarze polityczne brzmią jak business as usual. Zatem powiosłuję nieco pod prąd. Wybory prezydenckie to...

Opublikowany przez Joannę Muchą Wtorek, 3 czerwca 2025

While expressing personal admiration for centrist, pro-European candidate Rafał Trzaskowski, Mucha argued he was "never a winnable candidate" and represented a disconnect between the party and broader Polish society.

She also dismissed suggestions that Third Way leader Szymon Hołownia was to blame for the loss, arguing that without him, Trzaskowski’s support would have been even lower.

Call for post-election reckoning

Mucha urged the Civic Coalition to engage in serious introspection, warning that ignoring strategic errors would lead to a further decline.

In a follow-up post, she said her previous message had drawn over a thousand comments. Sharing some without commentary, Mucha highlighted one user who wrote:

“The worst part is that no one really believes in - or even expects - any reflection or change. It feels like we’re heading into a two-year downward spiral. What frustrates me most - what truly breaks me - is this overwhelming sense of helplessness. That’s why I admire you for still having the strength to speak out and call for change.”

Pod wczorajszym postem jest około tysiąca komentarzy, dziękuję Wam wszystkim. Ale dostałam też kilkadziesiąt komentarzy...

Opublikowany przez Joannę Muchą Środa, 4 czerwca 2025

Mucha is an economist and former sports minister with a PhD in health economics. She has long been active in academia as a university lecturer.

(mp/gs)

Source: Facebook.com/Joanna Mucha


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