Łukasz Gibała sworn in as Mayor of Kraków, calls on city councillors to cooperate

Oath taken at city council session

• Łukasz Gibała was sworn in as Mayor of Kraków on Tuesday during a ceremonial session of the city council.
• He received the chain of office and the symbolic key to the city gates from acting mayor Stanisław Kracik.
• Gibała won the 11 October runoff with 62.12 percent of the vote against Monika Piątkowska's 37.88 percent.
• He appealed to city councillors to cooperate, with the council dominated by Civic Coalition.

Łukasz Gibała formally became mayor of Kraków on Tuesday after taking the oath of office (Łukasz Gibała prezydentem Krakowa. Złożył ślubowanie – TVN24) (Nowy prezydent Krakowa złożył ślubowanie. Oto co wydarzyło się w magistracie – rp.pl). The ceremony was held during a ceremonial session of the Kraków City Council in the meeting hall of the city hall at All Saints' Square (Łukasz Gibała oficjalnie objął urząd prezydenta miasta; zaapelował do radnych o współpracę – dziennikzwiazkowy.com).

Handover of authority

Krzysztof Dyl, chair of the municipal election commission, presented Gibała with a document confirming his election (Łukasz Gibała złożył ślubowanie i oficjalnie objął urząd prezydenta miasta Krakowa – RadioMaryja.pl – radiomaryja.pl). Once sworn in, Gibała pledged to uphold the law and to carry out the office only for the common good and the welfare of residents (Do czterech razy sztuka. Łukasz Gibała zostanie dziś zaprzysiężony na prezydenta Krakowa – RMF24). He then received the chain of office and the symbolic key to the city gates from Stanisław Kracik, who had run the city on an acting basis.

Appeal to councillors

In remarks after the ceremony, Gibała urged councillors to put aside past disagreements and focus on common ground. He said that backing from voters holding different political views showed that traditional party divisions in local government are losing their significance. Former mayor Aleksander Miszalski of Civic Coalition (KO) attended the ceremony.

Background to the election

Miszalski was removed from office in a municipal referendum in May. In the runoff on 11 October, Gibała won 62.12 percent of the vote against 37.88 percent for senator Monika Piątkowska, who was supported by KO and the Polish People's Party (PSL). Turnout in the runoff stood at 44.27 percent. It was Gibała's fourth attempt to win the post.

Challenges ahead

The city council is dominated by Civic Coalition, so cooperation with the council is the first test of the new mayor's leadership (Kraków. Łukasz Gibała prezydentem Krakowa. Pierwsze decyzje - Wydarzenia w INTERIA.PL – wydarzenia.interia.pl). Commentators also point to the budget for next year as an early key challenge.