On a tv show TV Republic There has been 1 of the more controversial and medial spectacular political talks of the past weeks. The guest of the studio was president of the Confederation of the Polish Crown – Grzegorz Braun, who refused to support any of the candidates in the second circular of the 2025 presidential election. His words, including a quote: "My constituents are not a flock of poultry" and the message that the choice between Rafał Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki is ‘choice between plague and cholera’, sparked a wave of comments from both experts and average political scene observers.
Grzegorz Braun: My constituents are not a flock of poultry
During a conversation led by writer Danuta Holecka, they tried to get Braun to encourage his constituents to vote for Karol Nawrocki – a candidate supported by the Law and Justice. However, Braun refused to take specified a strategy, explaining:
“My constituents are not a flock of poultry that can be driven from 1 homestead to another.”
These words were not only rhetorical but besides ideological. Braun wanted to emphasise that his electorate were people conscious of national, patriotic and social values who would not be easy influenced by the ground of peculiar interests or strategical coalition agreements.
He besides added:
“These are Poles who are aware that they are and want to be Poles and not, let us say, Euro-colleagues or cropolisers.”
The choice between plague and cholera – a metaphor that hit the heart of the debate
When Holecka tried to push Braun to find any advantages in Nawrocki compared to Trzaskowski, the politician responded 1 of the most quoted sentences of this campaign:
“It is simply a choice between plague and cholera.”
The amazed writer asked:
– Is that so?
To which Braun powerfully replied:
– Right, right, editor. It's a choice between what's guaranteed and what's uncertain.
This evaluation of the presidential election gained large media attention. Not only did Braun not choose the side, but he even condemned the full logic of choosing "minor evil", suggesting that both candidates represent akin models of power.
Is specified an attitude based on law or jurisprudence?
Although Braun's message was purely political, it can be linked to the widely understood right to freedom of expression, guaranteed, among others, in Article 19 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Article 54 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. According to the case law of the Constitutional Court (e.g. No K 3/22/), freedom of expression besides includes the anticipation to formulate negative political assessments unless they contain elements of insults or false accusations.
In addition, the ultimate Court case-law on matters relating to the fairness of elections (e.g. order of 18.06.2020, ref. III CZP 7/20) emphasises that each candidate has the right to equal access to the media and to run without force from another political forces. Thus, Braun's decision not to support any of the candidates may be considered to be the implementation of political freedom, protected both constitutionally and internationally.
Will Confederate voters follow Braun's leadership?
The Confederate leader's decision to refuse to support Nawrocki may be crucial in the second round. According to polls conducted by IBRiS in early May 2025, The Confederation gained ca. 11% of electoral intentionsand its electorate has a advanced level of loyalty to organization leaders.
Some political analyses propose that any Confederate voters can spontaneously support Nawrocki as a little "liberal" candidate, but Braun's influence over his base remains strong. As highlighted in the publication of the Centre for Brzechwy Studies (March 2025), politicians can form the preferences of their voters through media communicative and speech of public statements.
Summary: Choosing a hard choice
Grzegorz Braun, being a guest TV Republic, not only did he refuse to support Karol Nawrocki, but he besides presented the view that the full election process in the second circular was a choice between 2 options that did not meet the expectations of part of society. Its metaphor – “the plague and the cholera” – became a slogan that went to a wide audience.
Regardless of the further improvement of the electoral campaign, Braun's message shows that politics in Poland does not boil down to simple schemes "supporting/not supporting". At a time erstwhile many parties declare “a fight for democracy”, decisions like this show that democracy is besides the right to not support.
— FreedomTV (@FreedomTV) May 27, 2025
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Braun on voters and second round: “Choice between the plague and cholera” [VIDEO]
