During the Monday presidential debate, the candidates made a number of controversial and inaccurate statements. Untrue information related, among others, to issues of migration, the war in Ukraine and the energy situation in Poland.
Maciej Maciak he falsely stated during the debate that "Americans go to treatment in Russia". The candidate cited the case of a girl with a birthmark on her face resembling Batman's mask, which supposedly "saved Russian specialists". Maciak proposed to Krzysztof Stanowski, who, as part of the presidential campaign, promotes 1 of the online collections for the treatment of a sick Polish child, sending him to therapy in Russia. He asked if if Vladimir Putin offered treatment for free, Stanowski would besides "promote" it.
The candidate's proposal has no support in the facts. In the American PAP press, she found no reports of alleged "number of U.S. citizens leaving for treatment in Russia" or "sending American children to operate in that country". After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Europe and the US closed for Russian airlines airspace, which further impedes travel to Russia. The case that Maciej Maciak referred to is isolated and controversial.
It is most likely Luna Tavares-Fenner of Florida, who was born with a congenital melanocyte mark – a skin condition causing dark spots on her face, which can lead to cancer. In 2019, 3 years before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian doctors from the clinic in Krasnodar offered the girl experimental photodynamic therapy. It consisted of injecting a medicine that was expected to origin the tissue to die and developing a new, healthy skin. Luna's parent chose this method, available only in Russia, to avoid aggressive surgical treatment offered by American doctors.
However, despite what the presidential candidate suggested, the treatment was not free. Although the full cost of the treatment was not revealed, the parent did not cover that she had to rise nearly $70,000, and yet therapy was possible thanks to the aid of an anonymous donor who paid the missing amount. The treatment lasted - as stated by the independent Russian portal "Moscow Times" - 18 months and during it there were complications that the girl did not avoid surgical interventions. Luna couldn't close 1 eye for six months – she had to sleep with an open eye, and the doctors were afraid that she would completely lose her sight.
She yet underwent six surgeries after which she was completely cured.
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Rafał Trzaskowski (KO) was imprecise erstwhile he claimed that "no migration pact will enter into force". His message was a consequence to Karol Nawrocki's question, whether the candidate KO supports the push of Polish borders by migrants.
The Migration Pact is simply a set of EU government which is binding on all associate States. It contains 9 regulations and 1 directive. 1 key component is the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation, which provides for the yearly relocation of at least 30,000 asylum seekers. associate States may waive admission of migrants by paying EUR 20 000 for any individual they do not accept.
Failure to implement the migration pact could violate European Union law, which would affect the beginning of an infringement procedure by the European Commission and, in the absence of a response, mention the case to the EU Court of Justice.
The migration pact besides emerged in the context of another exchange between these candidates when Karol Nawrocki was asked by Rafał Trzaskowski about his erstwhile commitment to "returning nearly PLN 100 1000 for renting a luxury flat belonging to the planet War II Museum".
In January, "Gazeta Wyborcza" reported that Nawrocki, as manager of the museum, utilized an flat in the museum hotel complex. The rental prices scope from PLN 650 to PLN 1,000 per night and the employees of the institution can number on discounts. However, Nawrocki did not bear any costs for this.
During Monday's debate, Nawrocki said that "what we will see would be an apology to Public tv for having written that I lived (Karol Nawrocki) a 100 days in the apartment." He explained that he could not live there for 100 days (the media reports show that between 2018 and 2021 Nawrocki rented the premises in a full of 197 days - PAP) because, among others, he "spent fresh Year's Eve at home and has photographs for it". He added that in his opinion the candidate KO deals with "fake news", not "apartments for illegal migrants", whose construction – allegedly – is carried out by Poland, creating the Centers for Integration of Foreigners.
The centres for foreigners applying for global protection - which were referred to by Karol Nawrocki - are led by the Office for Foreigners and since 2022 (during the regulation of the Law and Justice) the Centres for Integration of Foreigners have been established. These institutions offer support to foreigners in authoritative matters, but do not supply - as Nawrocki suggested - permanent residence and housing.
Joanna Senyszyn from the Alliance of the Democratic Left, attempting to show the unwarrantedness of defence spending at the level of 5% of GDP, stated that "the war will not be". Inconsistent with the facts, she said that "Russians have almost stopped occupying fresh areas in Ukraine, peace talks are about to begin."
On the day of the debate (12 May) The Institute for the survey of War published a study in which experts wrote that "Russian forces have late moved towards Torecka, Pokrowska and Nowovliwki". The paper besides indicates that "Russia sent to the front line in the Donetsk region of the national safety Service Regiment (FSB), possibly to rise concerns about further military progress". On the another hand, the May 11 study reported that "Russian forces have moved towards northern Kharkov and Nowopawliwka".
In addition to the action on the front, on the night before Senyszyn spoke, Russia carried out an air attack on Odski, Mikołajowski, Donetsk and Żytomierski circuits. Although there were no fatalities, 22 people were injured - said the Kyiv Independent service.
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In addition, the ISW reports show that the predictions of Senyszyn about urgent peace talks are besides not confirmed in the facts. As indicated in the paper, "Russian officials set conditions for president Vladimir Putin to reject the invitation of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski to talk about the ceasefire". Additionally - according to the ISW - "Putin takes action to prepare Russian public opinion for long-term war effort, not for a fast peace agreement".
He besides spoke on a akin subject Marek Woch representing the association "Unpartisan Local Governmentists", who during the debate stated that "most civilians die in Ukraine". In December, Volodymyr Zelenski reported that about 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died since February 2022. However, as besides in December 2024, The Independent, Western intelligence services and experts estimated that this figure was much higher – from 60 to 100 thousand. In turn, as in March of that year reported "The Times", the United Nations has confirmed the deaths of over 12.5 1000 Ukrainian civilians since the beginning of Russian aggression.
It is besides not actual that Rafał Trzaskowski "built from scratch at the Warsaw confederate Hospital". The KO candidate suggested this by answering the question of the introduction of wellness insurance funds by Sławomir Mentzen. Trzaskowski was president of Warsaw in November 2018, while construction of the confederate infirmary began in 2016.
In turn Grzegorz Braun He stressed respective times during the debate that "Poland has the most costly current in Europe". That's not true. According to the EneryPrices.eu portal, giving regular electricity prices in Europe, on 12 May Poland was placed at the ninth place in terms of electricity prices. It was more costly in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Hungary. According to Eurostat data, in the second half of 2024, the most costly electricity for households in Europe was in Ireland, the Czech Republic and Germany, and Poland was only in seventeenth place.
The first circular of the presidential election will be held on Sunday 18 May.
Source: PAP
