In a recent poll, nearly 73 % of Poles believe the KPO spending scandal could damage Donald Tusk’s cabinet, with the most skeptical group being left‑wing voters.
Polling Findings
The IBRiS survey conducted on 13–14 August for “Rzeczpospolitej” found that 72.9 % of respondents expect the KPO controversy to harm the Tusk government. 34.4 % answered “definitely yes” and 38.5 % “rather yes”; 22.7 % said the opposite, while 4.4 % were undecided.
Supporters of the ruling coalition were especially alarmed, with 53 % of Tusk’s backers believing the scandal would hurt the administration. 91 % of left‑wing voters, 68 % of Third Way supporters, and 65 % of PO followers shared this view.
Experts Warn The Picture Won’t Fade
Political scientist Prof. Rafał Chwedoruk of the University of Warsaw noted that the KPO issue “will not quickly disappear.” He argued that symbols—like yachts owned by politicians—strike a strong emotional chord with voters, similar to earlier episodes involving “octopus” spyware scandals.
Similarly, Łukasz Pawłowski of the National Research Group warned that the scandal will “burn.” He stressed that in politics symbolic perceptions often outweigh hard data, citing the impact of the earlier “octopus” case.
What Is the National Reconstruction Plan?
The National Reconstruction Plan (KPO) is a Polish program of reforms and investments aimed at mitigating economic fallout from the COVID‑19 pandemic. It forms part of the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, itself a core element of Next Generation EU, an EU recovery fund of several hundred billion euros.
Approved on 21 July 2020, Poland’s share of the KPO is nearly 60 billion euros—about 255 billion zł to a total of over 440 billion zł in grants and preferential loans. Repayment of loans extends to 2058.
To date, more than 823 000 agreements have been signed under the KPO, exceeding 140 billion zł in project value. The plan supports the HoReCa sector with 3 005 contracts amounting to 1.2 billion zł, constituting 0.5 % of the total KPO budget.
Concerns Over Fund Disbursement
In early September, doubts emerged about the proper use of KPO funds, notably the purchase of boats and the funding of “bridge” sports courses as a form of crisis preparedness through bridge teaching. Donald Tusk vowed a full inquiry into these matters.
Both the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office and the European Office of the Prosecutor General are investigating. A comprehensive report is expected by September, detailing the entire utilisation of KPO resources.
Deputy Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Jan Szyszko said that the crisis staff established at the Ministry is overseeing audits at the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development and five institutions responsible for selecting recipients of KPO grants. The former head of PARP, Katarzyna Duber‑Stachurska, was dismissed at the end of July.
Source: Gazeta,
