“At the beginning of next year presidential elections will be announced; I want to run in this race,” Hołownia, a celebrity journalist with private broadcaster TVN, declared on Sunday.
He told a gathering in the northern city of Gdańsk that Poland’s political system of two warring tribes has reached its limits and that an unaffiliated president was needed “to remedy the situation.”
An author of books on religious topics and a humanitarian activist, Hołownia argued that his charitable foundations have taught him that “the impossible becomes possible" when “people come to stand shoulder to shoulder with each other rather than just next to one another."
"Let’s make the world a better place an inch at a time," he appealed.
Positioning himself as a nonpartisan candidate, Hołownia told the crowd: "I humbly ask you to let me be a guardian of our national community."
His words were met with a storm of applause, state news agency PAP reported.
Hołownia, who has no prior political experience, announced his presidential bid a day after two opposition hopefuls faced off in a debate ahead of primaries.
Poland’s ruling conservatives last month reaffirmed their support for incumbent President Andrzej Duda, who is expected to seek re-election in May.
Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, has previously put an end to speculation that he might join the race for president next year.
(gs/pk)
Source: PAP, Polsat