"I won't take part in the presidential election," Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska announced on Friday. The candidate backed by Civic Coalition, once tipped as the main rival of incumbent Andrzej Duda, has seen a significant drop of support in recent polls and thus decided to quit the presidential race. Civic Platform leadership announced later on Friday that Rafał Trzaskowski would replace her as the new candidate.
"When the ruling party came up with a diabolical idea to organise elections in the middle of the pandemic, not caring for health of those who would have taken part in them, I couldn't stay silent and had to speak out," Kidawa-Błońska said. "If it wasn't for my firm stance and calls for boycott, the May election would have probably taken place".
"I know I have to shoulder the responsibility for what happened. The drop of support happened because the Poles weren't sure if I was running or not. I mainly cared for their health, safety and to keep Poland a democratic and European country," the deputy speaker of the Sejm said.
Until her resignation, deputy speaker of the Sejm Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska had been Civic Coalition's presidential candidate. Recent polls, however, indicated a drastic drop in support for her, starting up the potential replacements rumour mill. Civic Platform politicians have been mentioning some names, such as Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, and former foreign minister Radosław Sikorski.
The leadership of Civic Platform convened on Friday to discuss potential replacements and how to proceed with the campaign. After a few hours of deliberations, it was decided that the Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski would replace Kidawa-Błońska as the new candidate.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP