Polish Presidential Campaign Heats Up as Front-Runner Stumbles

Rafal Trzaskowski at a rally in Konskie, central Poland, on April 11.

Photographer: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images

It’s starting to look like déjà vu all over again for Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as his preferred candidate for president sinks in opinion pollsBloomberg Terminal a month before the election.

Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, the front-runner in May 18 race, lost eight percentage points in the latest survey published on Thursday, with his campaign reeling from a lackluster performance in a television debate last week. The drop has narrowed his support to 28% compared to 22% for Karol Nawrocki, a historian backed by the main opposition Law & Justice party, the survey by Ipsos pollsterBloomberg Terminal showed.