Defining Adamowicz murder in Polish political scenario – Politico

The murder of Gdańsk Mayor Paweł Adamowicz lays bare divisions that are wider that at any time since Poland shook off communism three decades ago.

The man who killed Adamowicz at a fundraising event on Sunday was described by authorities as a mentally ill bank robber who blamed the mayor’s former party, Civic Platform, for the time he spent in prison.

Politico reports the death “illustrates the scale of political tensions that function in our country,” Jarosław Wałęsa, a member of the European Parliament and a one-time rival of Adamowicz for the mayor’s job, toldPoland’s TVN24. “What happened yesterday is unfortunately a result of politicians not taking responsibility for their words.”

Adamowicz, 53, was a high-profile liberal critic of the ruling right-wing Law and Justice (PiS). He supported issues like gay rights and accepting asylum seekers, in stark contrast to PiS ideology, and his murder is being treated as a symptom of an illness in Polish society and politics.

The mayor had been subjected to barrages of abuse from pro-government media and other right-wingers. The nationalist All-Polish Youth even issued a “political death certificate” for Adamowicz two years ago.

The charity event Adamowicz was taking part in on Sunday is an even more prominent target of pro-government attacks.

Founded by rocker Jerzy Owsiak in 1993, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP) has become the country’s largest non-government charity. Every January, Polish streets are filled with children collecting money as part of an annual fundraising drive, and millions of Poles sport the foundation’s red heart stickers on their clothes to show they’ve donated.