The incident happened during a Poznań City Council discharge session, a formal procedure in which councilors review the city’s budget performance.
The attacker described the act as “a vote of no confidence from Poznań residents.” The session was interrupted, and police detained two people.
Jaśkowiak told Poland's PAP news agency that the attack was not entirely unexpected, given what he called the level of hate and aggression in public life.
“Today’s incident is the consequence of consent to crossing the boundaries of public debate and tolerating behavior that breaks the law,” he said. “If we do not react firmly, we will see further escalation of such behavior.”
The mayor said he had discussed the risk of a similar incident with one of his deputies several weeks ago. He cited easy public access to council sessions and growing aggression in the public sphere.
Jaśkowiak said the blow itself was not strong, but his clothing was damaged.
He added that he would not change his habits or request personal protection, despite earlier threats that acid would be thrown at him.
“I follow police recommendations,” he said. “Today, as a month ago, when there were threats that acid would be thrown at me, I had to sign a statement saying that I did not want to use protection. My decision remains unchanged.”
The mayor said the City Council and the municipal police should consider safer rules for public participation in sessions, including entrance checks or identification of people attending meetings.
Jaśkowiak also said the attacker was a Muay Thai fighter. He said he had been told the man was a Polish champion.
“We are dealing with a very dangerous person, with high-level fighting skills,” he said.
The mayor linked the incident to a March intervention at his office by Marcelina Zawisza, a member of parliament from the left-wing Razem party.
Zawisza had gone to Poznań City Hall with residents of Osiedle Maltańskie, a housing estate set on land which has been sold to a developer. She said residents had tried for two years to meet the mayor.
Jaśkowiak accused Zawisza of abusing parliamentary oversight, a lawmaker’s right to inspect public institutions, and claimed she had entered his office with “the same people who attacked me today.”
Zawisza rejected that account. She said the people who attacked Jaśkowiak were not present during the March inspection. She also said the mayor had failed to provide documents, prompting a report to the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA).
“I think it would be better if the mayor focused on solving the problems of Poznań residents,” she said.
Jaśkowiak warned that a lack of consequences for earlier incidents could encourage further escalation. He referred to the fatal stabbing of Paweł Adamowicz, the mayor of Gdańsk, during a public charity event in 2019.
“Today it was an attack with a cake. Next time it could be a corrosive substance or something much more dangerous,” Jaśkowiak said. “We all remember the tragedy that happened to Paweł Adamowicz.”
Zawisza denied any connection between her March intervention and Tuesday’s incident, saying “parliamentary oversight had nothing to do with what happened today in the session hall.”
Jaśkowiak is aligned with Poland's governing Civic Coalition (KO).
(rt)
Source: IAR, PAP