President Andrzej Duda announced the members of his election campaign staff on Wednesday, with a number of top Law and Justice (PiS) party officials tasked with ensuring the current president’s reelection.
Joachim Brudziński, the former minister of the interior, will be the head of the organizational staff and former Prime Minister Beata Szydło will be the head of the election program staff. Adam Bielan will be the staff’s spokesman. The head of the campaign will be Jolanta Turczynowicz-Kieryłło.
Bielan stated that he chose to take his role as “one does not refuse the president.” He added, that he had received the offer several weeks ago and was glad there were no media leaks about his participation.
The spokesman stressed the importance of the elections to both PiS and Poland.
“The last thing Poland needs is a conflict between the president and the government for the next three years,” he said.
He admitted that the upcoming campaign will be difficult, as presidential elections always have the highest turnout in Poland. Bielan also declared that Duda’s opponents are heavily mobilized and ready for anything.
“We saw that in Puck, where they were able to organize militias which vulgarly insulted the president at official ceremonies,” the spokesman stressed.
Bielan referred to an event last week in Puck in northern Poland. During the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Poland’s symbolic marriage with the Baltic Sea, a group of opposition protesters tried to interrupt President Duda’s speech.
Civic Platform (PO) candidate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska also participated in the meeting in Puck. Online videos showed Kidawa-Błońska meeting with protesters prior to the event.
Andrzej Duda’s opponents in the presidential elections on May 10 will be PO candidate Małogrzata Kidawa-Błońska, Spring MEP Robert Biedroń, Polish People’s Party Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Confederation MP Krzysztof Bosak, and independent candidate and journalist Szymon Hołownia.
If none of the candidates receive more than 50 percent of the votes on May 10, a second round of elections will be held on May 24 between the two candidates with the most votes.
