Igor Ostachowicz, Donald Tusk’s main spin doctor for years, is working with Civic Platform (KO) candidate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska’s strategists on her presidential election campaign, according to a report rom Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza,
A KO politician commented that Ostachowicz’s presence mean, that Tusk is more engaged in the presidential campaign than it was first presumed.
“If Kidawa-Błońska wins, then a new center of power will be created in the Presidential Palace. Our candidate does not have any political background. Who will play the main fiddle there? Tusk’s people,” he explained.
The Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza later referred to the PO’s candidate’s election strategy, with her staff stressing that they have a strategy and that they will have a slogan shortly. They also claimed that their entire “election machine” is working efficiently.
An election marketing specialist pointed out that the “election machine’ is in fact not working and offered the example of Kidawa-Błońska’s recent meeting with voters of Zgierz in Central Poland.
The whole event was closed and only 80 people attended, with about 70 of them being local party activists. He said they came to take some selfies and show off the fact that they were able to meet Kidawa-Błońska, but the poor showing only revealed a campaign not operating effectively.
A candidate must reach out to voters, not just members of her own party, the expert stressed.
He underlined that such a meeting should attract 300 to 400 people, which should not be difficult to organize. Normally for an election campaign, all it takes is a few volunteers to hang some posters announcing the event a week prior.
“Yet the staff are doing it three days before the event. Much too late,” the expert declared.
