Parliamentary elections 2023. Leaders’ debate without Jarosław Kaczyński. Wiktoria Grelewicz and Sandra Schenk comment

“Decision Time: Debuts” is a special campaign program presenting debuting parliamentary candidates. On Thursday, the guests were Wiktoria Grelewicz, running from the Left, and Sandra Schenk, candidate of the Civic Coalition.

They talked, among other things, about the debate to be held on Monday afternoon on government television. The following will take part: Donald Tusk (Civic Coalition), Szymon Hołownia (Third Way), Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus (Left), Krzysztof Bosak (Confederation) and Krzysztof Maj (Non-Party Local Government Workers). PiS is to be represented by the Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Donald Tusk called for participation in the debate Jarosław Kaczyński. The PiS president, who had previously refused to participate in the debate with Tusk, announced that he was going to Przysucha on Monday.

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Wiktoria Grelewicz, the Left’s candidate, said that she was “not surprised by President Kaczyński’s decision” not to participate in the debate.

– Apparently, the trauma of the debate (with Tusk) in 2007 is still fresh in the president’s memory. And the fear of public confrontation with opponents prevailed, she said.

In her opinion, “it seems that there are some concerns on the part of Prime Minister Morawiecki, because TVP also decided to refrain from asking questions from opponents, just to avoid this public embarrassment on the regime’s television.”

– I am very glad that the Left is the only party in the democratic opposition to put forward a woman candidate for the debate. I keep my fingers crossed for MP Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus and I am glad that this female voice will be heard during the debate – added Grelewicz.

Sandra Schenk from the Civic Coalition said that she would watch the debate, although she “regrets not to see President Kaczyński in it.” – I also regret that the number of women is unfortunately not impressive. However, I am looking forward to tonight, she added.

Referring to the state of public debate in Poland, she talked about the situation during last year’s edition of the Poland of the Future Campus. – A man with completely different views than most of the event participants protested at the main meeting place. Most likely, he expected an attack from us, but he was met with understanding. The participants invited him to the debate, they wanted to know his views, they simply wanted to understand, Schenk said.

She stated that this “is a very valuable skill that the older, experienced generation could learn from young people who are more open to the views and hearts of other people.”