Missing the bubble
PiS believes that Witold Bańka’s candidacy has not yet been completely ruled out and could return in these two months or even later. However, this is a desired approach.
After revealing to Newsweek that he could be the PiS candidate, Bańka himself published a brief statement. He wrote: “I would like to inform you that I do not intend to run for the office of President of the Republic of Poland. It is a great honour and honor, but as I announced at the beginning of this year, in 2025 I intend to run for another term as President of the World Anti-Doping Agency. My mission in the coming years is “We have been fighting for clean sport for years”.
He said he “does not intend to do so”, but there is hope in the PiS that he will start to “intend” to do so. “You can say no now, but in a month or two the issue may come up again. This cannot be completely ruled out,” the PiS MP said.
“Kaczyński’s Wunderwaffe”
— Bańka was supposed to be Kaczyński’s wunderwaffe, his secret weapon. The idea of running for public office was much more serious than it seems and than Kaczyński says, our PiS interlocutors emphasize. Witold Bańka approached the president and they talked at length. Andrzej Stankiewicz spoke about how these talks would proceed during the State of Emergency: the president was able to swallow Bańka’s divergent views, for example on civil partnerships.
Our interlocutor states: – Witold Bańka did not rule out the possibility of running in the presidential elections. Now he denies it, but being a regular candidate was not out of the question.
Big bang!
— The bubble was supposed to be kept secret until November and then there was supposed to be a big “boom!”, announcing him as our candidate and a big surprise for everyone – describes a PiS MP who knows the president’s intentions. In fact, Kaczyński decided that Bańka was a great candidate.
But then he declared that he did not intend to run for head of state. -What was he supposed to do? He had to isolate himself somehow, we heard from PiS.
The president “sold” Bańka
Witold Bańka fits perfectly with the description given by Jarosław Kaczyński in August on Radio Maryja: – He must be young, tall, impressive, handsome. Voters place high demands on these image requirements. He must have a family. He must speak English very well. It is better if he speaks two languages. We have candidates who are excellent in English and French. Just like this likely opponent in the second round. He must be internationally experienced. He should be a person for whom the world is not something foreign, who has participated in conferences and lectures.
Jarosław Kaczyński became very attached to Bańka’s candidacy. He himself could not bear the tension that had been created around the candidate’s selection and around Bańka himself as the candidate of his dreams. – Our president was so happy with Bańka’s candidacy that he began to “sell” him on Radio Maryja – we heard from PiS.
International Curriculum
Bańka has a good CV to fight for the Presidential Palace. He holds a degree in Political Science from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Silesia in Katowice. As an athlete, he specialized in the 400 m race. In 2007, in Osaka, he won the bronze medal at the world championships in the 4×400 m relay. In 2015, he became Minister of Sports and Tourism. He held this position until November 2019, when his election as head of WADA was officially approved during the congress in Katowice. He was then re-elected by acclamation, and his second term ends at the end of 2025.
He intends to compete for third place. In an interview with “Rzeczpospolita” at the beginning of the year, he stated that he “does not intend to return [do polskiej polityki — red.]because I don’t see any room for me in it.” So if a space were created, he could come back.
Witold Bańka for the third time?
Already then – in March – he said he would seek a third term as WADA president. This number of terms would be the first time, because – as he himself explained – formally, until now, the office of WADA president could be held for two such terms, but the president is also a member of the board of directors and the head of the executive committee and “according to our regulations, the limit for these positions is nine years”.
– Only the legal inconsistency was eliminated – he added, therefore there is no formal obstacle to the candidacy for a third term.
PiS jokes: Nitras will support Bańka to stay in WADA
Interestingly, the group choosing the WADA chief includes a representative from Poland – Sports Minister Sławomir Nitras (PO). One of the PiS MPs even jokes that Nitras will lobby for Bańka’s candidacy, as long as he does not run for president of Poland on behalf of PiS. However, a minister does not have the power to block or direct the election of the WADA chief.
If Bańka did not have the prospect of being WADA president for a third term, that might change his outlook.
The search for a candidate is in full swing
The process of selecting the PiS candidate for president is a two-pronged process.
Karol Nawrocki, Tobiasz Bocheński and Zbigniew Bogucki are trying to attract attention, and on the other hand, Jarosław Kaczyński is looking for a secret weapon. Nawrocki is eager to run – the president of the Institute of National Remembrance, whom the PiS president values and even sees in him as a candidate, if it is limited to the three mentioned above.
– This process of finding a presidential candidate is getting a bit out of hand – we heard from PiS.
