Warsaw's beleaguered mayor
Eastern approaches 2013-09-11
Summary:
THE MAYOR of Warsaw has a similarly important role in Polish politics as the mayor of London in Britain. So the fact a referendum may be held to recall Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz (pictured), the mayor of Warsaw since 2006 and deputy leader of the ruling PO party, is a big blow for PO. "If the mayor were voted out it would be an event of huge political importance,” says Aleks Szczerbiak at the University of Sussex.
It began as an iniative by Warszawska Wspólnota Samorządowa, a grouping of local government organisations. The group’s complaints include the rising ticket prices for public transport, the cost of rubbish collection, and the slow construction of the second line of the Warsaw metro.
At first, people doubted that the required 133,500 signatures (10% of eligible voters) would be collected. But on June 22nd, a total of 232,000 were submitted to the electoral commission for verification. (In the past tens of thousands of signatures in recalls of local politicians have been invalid.) “This entitles us to proclaim the Warsaw Republic: a city of free people, a city of...Continue reading