In the referendum held on Sunday 24 May, the Krakowians managed to cancel President-in-Office Alexander MiszaIski. Voters asked by pollers about the reason for taking part and voting in favour of an appeal (more than 97% of voters) most frequently stated the creation of the alleged Clean Transport region (SCT) (28%), but the remaining 72% gave another reasons.
However, it was not possible to cancel the City Council which voted this project. It is worth recalling that the concept of SCT itself was introduced into Polish law in 2018 by the Government of the Law and then incorporated by Mateusz Morawiecki to the alleged milestones which he undertook to crush Poles in exchange for a joint EU debt called the KPO, rebuilding the country after the destructions which he himself committed during the time of "a dangerous virus pandemic". All for the PO approval with appetizers. It turned out that car drivers are inactive a crucial force in Poland. Interestingly, the SCT did not hit the drivers surviving in Krakow itself, but unlike another cities that treated it as essential evil and mocked it by limiting it to respective streets of the advanced centre, close Wawel the area of its validity was designated almost equivalent to the city's borders. This most likely active treating the SCT as a means of repairing urban finance in a terrible state.
Significantly, the ban on coal smoking and the ban on the usage of wood in fireplaces, which is most likely the only 1 in Poland, did not origin any opposition in Krakow. Today, under the influence of ideologies of climateism and to the joy of developers, flat buildings are being built without a gas installation and software makes it hard to connect to a gas network building single-family homes. There is not a formal ban, but the alleged nudgeing tactics are used, consisting of the maximum multiplication of insignificant formal and material obstacles, as this is done, for example, to discourage the usage of cash. An aged woman who did not have the chance to install another heat origin at home, had to make a fewer years of winning conflict in front of the courts in defence of her right to heat wood on the side of the old house, but the general ban on wood heating contested by 1 of the Wieliczka local authorities maintained. However, protests have not been organised on this issue, seemingly recognising that older, little prosperous and in full fewer (a fewer thousand) residents are not a valuable mark for building future political careers. Jan Hoffman – from media viewing a solid intelligent being the face of a referendum run – he was not previously more widely known as a politician, acting mainly at territory level. The run was run smoothly, a large number of volunteers were active to collect signatures, and in the next phase residents received leaflets for boxes, professional posters encouraging participation and reminding of the event were visible in the city. Supporters of the initiative in online media were effective.
The organizers did not overemphasize the SCT cases, nor did they participate in protests, which were mainly attended by drivers from outside Krakow, most frequently afraid of difficulties in getting to work, offices, etc. The political ambition of any of the organizers of the protests against the SCT was left out and expressed resentment over the fact, but after the action turned out to be successful and successful, SCT opponents besides joined the collection of signatures. They gathered them without a tiny 3 000 on over 130 000 gathered by the authoritative Committee, who criticized for utilizing financial support Luke GibalaWhich he wasn't hiding. This shows that this kind of action does not stand a chance without a solid organizational and financial background.
In addition to the SCT, another causes of the current president's failure were besides pointed out: the dudery or hiring organization companions without qualifications, the creation of fresh positions in urban bureaucracy, the avalanche increase in the city's debt and importantly; at the same time with the introduction of the SCT a extremist increase in public transport ticket prices. The second was peculiarly criticized by the Left related to the Together. Miszalski besides compromised in the eyes of a more delicate to the form of a part of the Krakowians prostack behavior, which was symbolized by photographing with 8 stars on his forehead and not very sophisticated videos on the tic process.
Also, the behaviour of the councillors of the clubs that supported him and, respective days before the referendum, boycotted a session dedicated to the fresh general plan, was perceived as an expression of political cowardice and arrogance. The behaviour that culminated in a series of drunken failures was open and kept in a somewhat pleasurable speech the call by Mishalski himself and his supporters to the boycott of the referendum, which in their rhetoric turned out to be a "break-up of a five-year deal" etc., etc. Finally, the reason for the decisive defeat of Miszalski: his unequivocal partyry (in March 2026 he was again the head of the Małopolskie PO structures) mobilized all parties and supporters of the current opposition, which in his appeal saw an chance if not to take over power in the first large city, it was surely the humiliation and task of a severe image blow of the full KO from Donald Tuski At the head. So Mishalski next to the mistakes and troubles inherited from Jack Majchrowski (long, deals, expanded investments) he had a coalition composed of many, frequently disliked groups.
The authorities of the Platform which ostentatically supported MiszaIski in his fight for the presidency 2 years earlier, this time with the increase in the number of signatures collected and the results of the polls toned out public support, focusing primarily on attacking Luke Gibala. At this point, we request to return to a situation that, for example, for me personally was a very crucial motive for taking part in the referendum and voting in favour of cancelling MiszaIski. It was what happened at the election in 2024. Luke Gibala competed in them for the 3rd time. Before leaving the PO and a short episode in the Palikot Movement it was consecutive years: 2013 with a score of 11.16%, 2018 – 17.14% and yet 2024 erstwhile after the departure of president Jack Majchrowski he first entered the second circular and lost to the PO candidate with a score of 48.96%. In the meantime, in 2018 he became a Councillor of Krakow and is besides presently a associate of the Krakow club for Residents. He had previously been an MP, councillor of the Sejm, moving for the Senate. He was a primary opponent of Jack Majchrowski's politics, and it seemed that after his departure he was a natural candidate for a decisive change in the way he ruled, the shattering city of fossils grown for more than 2 decades of layouts and arrangements, and the stopping of debt spirals. Even weeks before the election, the polls gave him a safe lead of 60 to 40%.
Then there were events that even exceeded the not very advanced standards of the Vistula. His father's home was broken into, with whom he had common interests and a media run was launched, according to which he intended to settle his debts with the aid of the presidency of Krakow. Posters with specified accusations hung at all Kraków stops and were financed by well-known improvement companies in the country but for any rigors of the campaign. In detail, this is described in the book of 2 journalists Andrzej Gajcy and Wojciech Mucha under the heading ‘Campaign. How to win elections and not get caught.” At the same time, the posters of Gibala were picked in a rude way. The police and the prosecutors did not halt any of the perpetrators of these acts, and, according to the journalistic analysis dedicated to this case, they did not effort very hard to do so. As a consequence of specified massive and completely unlawful actions Gibal lost a difference of about 2% or 5 1000 votes. However, he remained alderman and continued to score the mistakes of Majchrowski's successor, whose erstwhile president supported in the election. Miszalski in 2024 besides supported Margaret Wasserman, which for a change had previously seen the political possible of flattering drivers' dreams and in her election program preached a plan to build parking lots throughout the city with peculiar emphasis on the centre and surroundings of Kraków schools.
While for PO Gibala he was always enemy number one, any kind of traitor who left his own camp and struggles for a similar, progressive ecologically greening large city electorate, the right had a problem with him: on the 1 hand, an increasingly effective enemy of our enemy, but at the same time individual ideologically suspicious who was at Palikot and at PO. On the 3rd hand, a highly educated, successful business entrepreneur and rather convincing, but not an utmost ecologist focusing on collective transport, caring for greenness, the cultural heritage of the city, maintaining tiny shops and conventional craft workshops, and, above all, defending Krakow from the influences of the patodevelopmentist. Gibala besides cared about maintaining independence, avoiding mostly declarations on national policy issues. He abstained from voting at the appeal of the Councillors of Krakow for compulsory vaccination, but together with everyone else he voted to prevent us from listening in Krakow Roger Waters, due to the fact that he had the incorrect political views. The initiator of this second resolution, marked by political emotional blackmail on the wave of the proukrain euphoria of the year 2022, was PiS councillors and a very loud councillor from president Majchrowski's club.
Gibala as a mention to an ecologically oriented electorate first voted for the SCT, then abstained. The problem of any policy geared to a sensible ecology present makes sense. It is that the vast majority of the electorate now has its ecological views dominated by crazy and fundamentally anti-ecological climateism, excessive sensitivity to smaller brothers and excessive fear of health. In Cracow, after 1 of the fewer cold winters in the beginning of the erstwhile decade, the Smog Alarm began to work and it was thanks to it, among another things, that Drakonian sharpens were introduced and encouraged to inform the services at the sight of any smoke, as a consequence quite a few Krakus – poorer pensioners do not heat up the apartments in the winter, but the air is statistically cleaner, although as shortly as the cold above comes over the city, the smog inactive returns.
The 22-year-old era of Jack Majchrowski had its ecological accents: bike paths in Krakow were created, sometimes I have the impression that besides many electrical bicycles and scooters moving at the velocity of cars make me nervous, cars no longer disturb pavements, and trams – the backbone of collective transport in the city of specified sizes, have the best in Poland, due to the fact that the Canadian Bombardiers and Swiss Stadlerom do not match the country, in which the experts from the Kraków MPK who care about the ergonomics of the interior and comfort of passengers are not small. However, the hypermarkets were created and the traffic of the car steadily grew, despite further driving the city into a long investment in increasingly fresh urban highways, which were about to unload it or decision it out of the center. This is inactive the case today, as it is hard for drivers' awareness to get free of the illusion of exasperating frustration felt in traffic jams, that widening the road in a simple way will limit itself to expanding capacity, illusions that do not fit the fact that it will last very briefly, and per balance of motion and time to stand in traffic jams will increase.
The fact about the raised movement is described in textbooks and tested in practice in many countries. In Poland, its replacement with inexpensive demagoguery combined with import of inexpensive diesel from Germany, which was besides opposed by Polish greens a 4th of a century ago – I remember our slogan and banner: "Let's learn from the mistakes of the West". This is done by more native removal of emanation simplification devices and mediocre method inspections. By fighting the construction of hypermarkets and immense surrounding parking lots, I found that the Kraków deal was much broader than elected politicians and officials.
We delivered clear evidence of corruption to the prosecution, a witness – a Pole working in 1 of the German companies building hypermarkets. The prosecutor asked after a fewer months why he did not take any action answered that these were photocopier materials, after any time all cases were written off, besides certifying the untruth in the papers of the vice president turned out innocent in the opinion of the Krakow courts, due to the fact that “he was not a lawyer”. Revealing scandals with manipulative destiny and disposing of city plots vice president Barbara Bubula The courts were dragged so effectively until she had to appeal to the ultimate Court, where she found justice, but had previously lost her seat after adverse judgments of local courts. erstwhile I read how the black PR run was swept under the carpet in the 2024 election against Luke Gibala, I felt deja vu.
About the fact that the SCT is part of a wider plan to close the population in 15 minute ghettos and even more pushy control of all movement small or no 1 speaks in the campaign, though even the Krakowians had to registry in the strategy to avoid fees. It is inactive a version considered by the dominant political dulshish to be besides fantastic for it to fit into the stakes of the average electorate. Therefore, without a car and being a proponent of the regulation of car traffic in large cities, I took part in 1 of the manifestations against the SCT alongside a not-wise banner with the inscription "city for drivers".
This is another example of how complicated politics are erstwhile it comes to the level of concrete and why politicians do not like specified a policy so much. It requires knowledge, analysis, and small effective weighing of rations. Friedrich Von Hayek considered to be the patron of Polish “freedom” who effort to build their car dreams with a theory, he understood it well. Unfortunately, as usual in Poland, in his case too, only titles and selected content are read, which fit their own ideas and horizons. A large city like most likely no another subject of politics is simply a fascinating laboratory in which 1 must weigh the most tangible, strict life interests of the inhabitants and face ideological beliefs surviving in their heads. For me, for example, it is simply a choice between individual who may tolerate rainbow quirks and making young people's water from the brain, but will take care of greenness and spatial order, and a noble otherwise "right-wing freeman" who will find that trams are "bovines" and will build a parking lot or a speedway under my building window.
The upcoming elections will surely be an highly fertile field for commentators to analyse. Łukasz Gibala genuinely displeased and humiliated those who deprived him of his presidency in erstwhile elections, but judging from the national media run his way to a possible triumph might be even more difficult. This is an crucial argument for his candidacy, though I'm not certain he'll run in the earlier elections. With almost the full current City Council and the mentioned broad Krakow layout against each another in practice, it is an almost impossible mission. And what about the city and the cars? Here you gotta follow the rule of moderation, fair weighing arguments to find a balance and not attach to your own successes, due to the fact that time and circumstances can make what was wise yesterday not so today, only the rules are permanent.
Olaf Swolkień
Extended version of the text "Kraków – a large problem Tusk"
photo of wikipedia
Think Poland, No. 23-24 (7-14.06.2026)
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