Thanks to Notes from Poland for the Headline
Lukasz Gibala , an independent , has won the mayoral election in Kraków ,self-financed and successful on his fourth attempt beating the Prime Ministers favoured candidate by a significant margin.
As the Mayor of Manchester became our PM who is to say what will happen next.
Immediately he knew he had won he stated quite categorically that the people did not want Warsaw to dictate to them and that Kraków’s people had shown they wanted a leader who would stand up for them and that the people of Kraków know better what is good for them. Fine words.
Lukasz Gibala is a wealthy business man and his campaign has concentrated on things that matter to the people of Kraków, apparently it is the most visited City by tourists in Poland and the local people are not happy about the prevalence of Air B’nB’s and the affect it has on the development of the City. Also they are not happy about the imminent “clean transport zone ” for vehicles. Please note Bristol and London. Also he is looking to reduce croneyism and the cost of public transport.
The other candidate campaigned on seeking to locate an AI “gigafactory” in Kraków, to boost availability of housing for young people and to offer women free mammograms’, pram-friendly infrastructure , free menstrual hygiene products and safer night-time public transport. All , aims of significant merit , but perhaps not appealing to the broader vote.
It’s interesting that Gibala used to be an MP in Tusk’s Government and though he ran as an Independent, gained a cheer from the Right Wing on his victory in Kraków. I think he won because he was more in touch with what the people wanted, fascinating about the dislike of Air B’nB’s.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
