They grew up, listening to the conflict of Donald Tusk and Jarosław Kaczyński. They are fed up with it. – Change is needed, it is clear – say young voters. They feel unnoticed by politicians. And the candidates for the office of the president marginalized them not only in their programs, but even in election advertising. And this is what Sławomir Mentzen and Adrian Zandberg gained on this.
May 2025. Train of Poznań – Warsaw. A group of 20 -year -olds in the range. I involuntarily listen to their discussions about the upcoming elections. I focus maximally, only when I hear that there are those among them who in the parliamentary elections voted for a confederation with Sławomir Mentzen at the forefront. And now, a year and a half later, they intend to vote for Adrian Zandberg without any problem.
– I'm sorry, but how? – I can't help myself from intercourse.
And then I find out that it is neither about the economy or the rights of women, but about “who will turn this table faster”. Nothing has changed in the views of my fellow passengers in recent months. They just want to change power. And it's best “as soon as possible”.
– There were many such voters? – I asked myself this question after the trip. Now I am looking for answers in conversations with voters and experts, but also in data from poll Late Poll Ipsosu.
Numbers say that there were probably not many people like my fellow passengers. Among Zandberg's Sunday voters, only 2.6 percent It voted in 2023 in the parliamentary election for the confederation. Migration the other way was not spectacular either. Among Mentzen voters, only 1.2 percent It was then supported by the new left, from which the lists were started in 2023 by politicians together.
But when we look at the flows in the electorates, something else can pay attention – both Zandberg and Mentzen effectively fished their voters outside their own groups. As much as 22 percent voting for the leader together, in 2023 it was in favor of a civic coalition, and 14.7 percent. Mentzen voters previously voted for PIS. Both managed to catch a lot of those who had not previously voted or do not even remember who they voted for (at least every fifth voter in each of them).
We do not know how many of them were before thirty, but knowing the demographics of voters, it can be assumed that many.
What does this mean? Who makes it happy and who pisses? The case is of course complex.
There are many comments on social media whose election result among young people disappoints. It doesn't matter if they are behind Karol Nawrocki or for Rafał Trzaskowskiusually they have a lot to write about the “level of education”. And about how the school “failed.”
I prefer to ask young voters what lessons Mentzen and Zandberg did that they finally won their voice. And also with them, think about whether there is any learning from it before the second round of elections for Trzaskowski and Nawrocki's staffs.