Kraków’s newly elected mayor has withdrawn the city’s official patronage of its annual LGBT+ equality march, arguing the event has become too political, according to Notes from Poland.
Łukasz Gibała, who won Sunday’s mayoral election running as an independent, told Radio Kraków that he would not sponsor events with “a partisan character”. The announcement came just one day after his victory as he pledged to depoliticise city hall.
“I have the impression that, over the past three years or so, the community that organises equality marches has simply become partisan,” Gibała said. “These are people who ran for parliament and local government on the lists of specific political parties.”
The mayor-elect did not name individuals, though one of the march organisers, Magdalena Dropek, has stood three times as a candidate for The Left party in Polish and European parliamentary elections. The Left is part of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling coalition.
Previous mayors embraced the march
Kraków’s equality march, first held in 2004, attracts thousands of participants each May and campaigns for greater LGBT+ rights in Poland, which ranks among Europe’s worst countries for LGBT+ people. The event gained official support in 2021 when then-mayor Jacek Majchrowski became honorary patron.
His successor, Aleksander Miszalski, made history in 2024 as the first Kraków mayor to attend the march, declaring the city should be “a home for everyone”. However, Miszalski was removed from office earlier this year in a recall referendum, paving the way for Gibała’s election victory over Monika Piątkowska of the centrist Civic Coalition.
Gibała emphasised that he has attended equality marches himself in the past “and does not regret it”. The new mayor previously served as an MP for Civic Platform and the liberal Palikot’s Movement.
Support for same-sex marriage recognition continues
Despite withdrawing patronage, Gibała confirmed he would continue the city’s practice of transcribing foreign same-sex marriages into the civil registry, as required by a 2023 Court of Justice of the European Union ruling.
During the campaign, the mayor told broadcaster TVN that he had supported introducing same-sex civil partnerships in Poland as an MP and his views had not changed. However, he described himself as a “legalist” who respects current law, noting the practice would end if a future government changed the legislation.
Polish law does not recognise any form of same-sex union. The current government, aware that President Karol Nawrocki would veto legislative change, issued a regulation allowing local authorities to register foreign same-sex marriages without presidential approval.
Data from the digital affairs ministry last week showed 516 foreign same-sex marriages have been registered in Poland. Warsaw leads with 209, followed by Wrocław with 73 and Kraków with 46.
Many municipalities in more liberal cities have begun registrations, though conservative areas have refused, often citing legal doubts.
What this means for Poles in Poland
Gibała’s decision marks a step back from the symbolic support LGBT+ communities enjoyed under recent Kraków leadership, though practical recognition of foreign marriages continues. Poles in same-sex marriages performed abroad can still register in Kraków and other participating cities, securing tax rights equal to other married couples. This process depends on local authority cooperation and the current government regulation, not on mayoral patronage.
The withdrawal of patronage may signal changing political winds ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections. LGBT+ rights remain deeply divisive in Poland, with no civil partnerships or domestic same-sex marriage on the horizon. For Poles considering returning from the UK or US where they married same-sex partners, registration availability varies by municipality and could change if the political landscape shifts after 2027 elections.
