Centrist candidate Rafał Trzaskowski and conservative rival Karol Nawrocki exchanged questions and barbs over a broad range of issues, including healthcare, international affairs, the economy, social policy, national security and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The nearly two-hour debate, moderated by journalist Jacek Prusinowski from the tabloid Super Express, was aired by state broadcaster TVP and private networks TVN and Polsat.
Commentators described the exchange between the two contenders as moderate in tone, with little drama and no obvious winner.
They agreed the debate offered few new insights for voters ahead of the June 1 runoff.
Trzaskowski, a prominent figure from the ruling Civic Coalition (KO), came out on top in the first round of the presidential contest with 31.36 percent of the vote.
Nawrocki, backed by the opposition right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, placed second with 29.54 percent.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a media interview on Thursday that Trzaskowski could lose the runoff unless pro-democracy voters turn out in large numbers.
He framed the election as a moral choice, describing Nawrocki as "the last person in public life" who should be seeking the presidency.
Nawrocki has come under scrutiny over alleged ties to the criminal underworld and accusations that he lied about an apartment he obtained from an elderly man.
Tusk’s centrist, pro-EU coalition—victorious in the October 2023 parliamentary elections after eight years of PiS rule—aims to consolidate its power by winning the presidency.
The current conservative president, Andrzej Duda, who was first elected in 2015, is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. His mandate ends on August 6.
The winner of the runoff will serve a five-year term as head of state, overseeing foreign and defence policy and holding veto power over legislation.
Polish presidential candidates Rafał Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki. Photos: PAP/Paweł Topolski/Paweł Supernak
Trzaskowski, a political scientist specialising in European studies, has served as mayor of Warsaw since October 2018 and was re-elected last year.
He was a member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2013, Poland’s administration and digitisation minister from 2013 to 2014, and deputy foreign minister from 2014 to 2015.
He previously ran for president in 2020, narrowly losing to Duda.
Nawrocki currently heads the Institute of National Remembrance, a state-run agency tasked with documenting and prosecuting Nazi and Soviet crimes against Polish citizens.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, TVP