Going to the Poles
As the candidates show off their agendas for the capital, WBJ asks the city's business leaders and opinion makers what they think are the most pressing issues for Warsaw's next Mayor.
Next week, Varsovians go to the polls to elect a new mayor. WBJ takes a look at their priorities for the city, and asks Warsaw's movers and shakers what they think the politicians should focus on.
On November 12 Poles will vote for local authorities, including city Mayors. In Warsaw, the race is especially tight between the former Prime Minister and acting Mayor Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz (Law and Justice) and Civic Platform's Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz. Another important candidate is Marek Borowski of the leftist block, but at the moment his victory seems unlikely.
According to the most recent opinion poll by Pentor, Gronkiewicz-Waltz will obtain 34 percent of votes, against Marcinkiewicz's 33 percent. With his 16-percent support, Marek Borowski is left far behind. According to the poll, in the second round, Civic Platform's candidate would beat the acting Mayor 58 percent to 42.
The race for Warsaw's city hall is no game for amateurs - the city has a budget of zł.8.9 billion, the bulk of which comes from taxes. The Mayor is a big employer, with some 5,600 people working under his/her supervision. The post now seems to hold even more importance after it became a springboard for Lech Kaczyński to win the Presidency.
The differences between the core programs of the main competitors are not striking. During a recent meeting with entrepreneurs at the Business Center Club, when asked about the first three decisions they would make as Warsaw's Mayor, both Gronkiewicz-Waltz and Marcinkiewicz pointed to the need for a single master plan for zoning, the construction of a ring road around the city and improved mass transport within Warsaw. The candidates also promise to build new bridges over the Vistula River, and to do away with the messy situation on Plac Defilad around the Palace of Culture.
When it comes to the realization of these plans, the main discrepancy lies in the fact that Gronkiewicz-Waltz is a zealous advocate of public-private partnership, while Marcinkiewicz, in line with his party's outlook, is rather skeptical about the possibility of such cooperation.
But to spice up the campaign and increase their chances for victory, each candidate is also doing his or her best to stand out from others and promise some bonuses. Thus Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz is a great advocate of free internet access and cheap loans for students who want to buy a laptop. He also advocates turning the old Koneser Distillery in the Praga district into a cultural center, as well as revitalizing the Port of Praga.
Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz also wants to revitalize Praga, but her priority is mass transport - she wants to link the suburbs with the center by trains through the introduction of a 'master ticket' system. She also wants to focus on decentralization of competencies within the city, and stresses that her managerial experience both in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as well as in the Polish central bank will help her manage the capital successfully.
Gronkiewicz-Waltz also believes that social dialogue is the key to Warsaw's success. With this in mind, Warsaw Business Journal asked the people who live and do business in the capital city, including those who try to make it more friendly and cultured, what their wishes for Warsaw are, how they would like it to change and what decisions they would like to see taken by a new Mayor. Below are excerpts from what they told us.
