Kraków disappointed president of KO

After 22 years of regulation by Jacek Majchrowski, Kraków was waiting for a fresh man for salvation. Majchrowski left office with low public support of ratings, and his long-term presidency was 1 of the longest episodes in the past of the city's local government.

The fresh president has become Aleksander Miszalski (45) – a politician associated with the civilian Coalition who defeated in the election Luke Gibala and took office in May 2024. In an opinion examining his first years in the master's degree, there are respective strong allegations that may interest readers of the Tribunal Newspaper.

Miszalski took over the city with debt of about PLN 6 billion, remaining after the word of office Majchrowski. According to Tomasz Borejza of the Jagiellonian Club, the debt increased by about PLN 1 billion in the first year of government, and the prospects for the following years do not look better. In 2026, the city's debt is expected to scope 9 billion PLN or exceed that limit, which, in comparison with the budget of about 10 billion PLN, raises concerns about the stableness of the city's finances in the event of an economical downturn.

The Kraków authorities explain the fast increase in debt due to mistakes of the erstwhile administration, but critics point out that in practice Miszalski entrusted strategical functions in urban companies and offices to people closely connected with political facilities. An example is the appointment without a competition for a advanced position in the Krakow Municipal Holding of fortunate Filipiak, the leader of local KO structures, which sparked waves of negative comments. In addition, the executive ranks were joined by co-workers of the president from his parliamentary work.

Miszalski declared that 1 of the priorities of his presidency would be dialog with residents. In the beginning, there were meetings initiatives and "dialogue benches", but key consultations on the Clean Transport region were assessed as poorly conducted and fueling social tensions. According to the evaluators, this mediocre organisation of these consultations has exacerbated the conflict and shown limitations on the kind of dialog declared by the President.

Red. Gibala accuses authorities of transferring methods known from national policy to local land, with polarisation and reactions to criticism alternatively of a substantive debate on solutions. In this narrative, there are no deficiency of references to the president's engagement in social media, which, according to the commentators, is more like creating an image than carrying out circumstantial tasks.

In summary, the evaluation of the first years of Miszalski's regulation highlights problems with increasing debt, controversial personnel nominations and difficulties in conducting real dialog with residents. This painting may be useful for a text that discusses the direction of the improvement of Krakow and the quality of its regulation after Majchrowski's era.

→ M. Barrel

26.01.2026

• Photo: Mariusz Barył / paper Tribunalska

• more about Krakow: > Here.