Kukiz, who won close to 21-percent in Sunday’s ballot but declaring that he will not be backing either Duda or Komorowski, invited the candidates to take part in a debate in Lubin, where the musician held his election gathering and concert at the weekend.
Duda: “I’m in”
So far, Andrzej Duda – who won the first round by just 0.99 percent – has announced on social media platform Twitter that he would take part by saying “I’m in”, with Law and Justice spokesman Marcin Mastalarek telling Polish Radio on Tuesday morning that “the more debates the better”.
Mastalarek said that Andrzej Duda is willing to take part in any debate, including the one proposed by Kukiz, saying that Poles should have a wide-ranging knowledge on the candidates ahead of the second-round poll.
“This shows respect for voters, and even if we don’t agree with everyone, it is worth doing and indeed necessary to do so,” Mastalarek underlined.
Komorowski undecided?
Meanwhile, Bronisław Komorowski’s campaign manager Robert Tyszkiewicz is sceptical of the idea, writing on Twitter that “a debate between two politicians, moderated by a politician, is too much politics and not enough [civic engagement]”.
According to Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna, any debate between the two candidates should only focus on the most important issues. In Schetyna’s opinion, these are foreign policy, security and the office of the presidency.
“What Kukiz is proposing is a political show,” Schetyna told Polish Radio.
It is reported that Komorowski is to decide on Kukiz’s proposal later on Wednesday.
TV stations clambering over presidential debates
So far, apart from invitations sent out by public broadcaster TVP and major commercial station TVN to host their repsective televised debates, other media outlets have been scrambling to host their own.
Apart from the two aforementioned broadcasters, Polsat, TV Trwam – the televised arm of Redemptorist Father Tadeusz Rydzyk’s media empire – as well as a coalition of right-wing media led by Telewizja Republika, have all filed invitations with the presidential candidates to put on debates ahead of the second round.
Poland will ultimately decide on who the country’s president will be for the next five years on 24 May. (jb)