Marcin Romanowski, who served as deputy justice minister from 2019 to 2023 under Poland’s previous nationalist-populist government led by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, was
granted political asylum in Hungary on Thursday after a Warsaw court issued a European arrest warrant for him in connection with an
investigation into alleged abuse of public fund.
The move caused anger in Warsaw and further strained already-sour relations between Budapest and Warsaw.
Romanowski faces charges including participation in an organized criminal group, rigging public funding competitions, and embezzling over 107 million zlotys (€25 million), as well as an attempt to defraud a further 58 million zlotys (€13.56 million).
According to a poll conducted by IBRiS on behalf of the private broadcaster Radio ZET and published on Tuesday, 69.9% of poles expressed disapproval regarding Romanowski’s choice to evade Polish justice by seeking asylum in Hungary.
Only 12.9% of respondents held a positive view of Romanowski’s decision, while 17.2% of those surveyed were either undecided or uninterested in the matter.
Among PiS supporters, 37% disapproved of Romanowski’s actions, while 26% approved. However, a substantial 36% of PiS voters were undecided.
In contrast, every voter for Civic Coalition, the main party in the ruling camp, as well as for the New Left, a junior coalition partner, expressed strong disapproval of Romanowski's decision to flee the country.
Interestingly, 14% of voters supporting the Third Way coalition, made up of Poland 2050 and the Polish People’s Party, which is also part of Poland’s current ruling coalition, expressed moderate approval of Romanowski’s flight.
The survey was run on December 20-21, 2024, on a representative sample of 1,067 Poles.
