Election Watch: The challenges faced by Robert Biedron – Poland’s ‘Macron’

A new party called Wiosna, which means “spring” in Polish, was launched last month by Robert Biedroń — one of the country’s first openly gay politicians — presenting itself as an alternative to the two big beasts of Polish politics, the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) and centrist Civic Platform (PO).

Biedroń has presented himself as a fresh face in politics, untainted by association with either PiS or PO — a sort of Polish Emmanuel Macron, a comparison that he has encouraged.

POLITICO reports that his party has also targeted displaced left-wing voters, left with few options after the implosion of the ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance party in 2005, and Biedroń flourished as a liberal leader during his recent stint as mayor of the coastal city of Słupsk, where he was frequently profiled by local and international media.

But the wave of publicity and tougher journalistic examination that greeted Biedroń and his new party’s program have him on the back foot — something that could have implications for May’s European election and this fall’s national parliamentary vote.

The report reminds that “when Wiosna launched, one opinion poll had it with 16 percent support, but a new survey by the same organization released last week showed that shrinking to only 7 percent — not far above the 5 percent threshold needed to win parliamentary seats.”

“Politics is brutal,” Biedroń told Polish radio last week, adding, “It’s natural that groupings that have existed for many years are going to try to attack us because we’re something completely new — a fresh project that escapes from the conflict that is choking Poland.”

May’s European election is key to the party’s future.