WARSAW — Paweł Adamowicz, the mayor of Gdańsk, was in critical condition Sunday evening after being stabbed by a knife-wielding assailant who stormed the stage during the finale of a national charity event, local media reported.
Adamowicz was taking part in the event organized by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP), one of the country’s leading charities which every year holds a fund drive to raise money for hospital equipment.
The attacker reportedly yelled that he had been improperly imprisoned during the previous government of the centrist Civic Platform party, which lost power in 2015; Adamowicz was formerly a member but is now an independent. The suspected attacker was arrested.
The stabbing shocked the country, with expressions of support for Adamowicz coming from across the political spectrum.
“Let’s pray for Paweł Adamowicz,” said Donald Tusk, a former Polish Civic Platform prime minister and now president of the European Council.
President Andrzej Duda tweeted that he “usually differed” politically with Adamowicz, “but today I am unconditionally with him.”
The charity and its founder, rock musician Jerzy Owsiak, have come under fierce attack from parts of the Roman Catholic Church and from members of the ruling Law and Justice party and its media backers, who have accused Owsiak of wrongdoing, wasting money and of being too political.
In response, the charity has become a symbol for people who dislike the government: Its revenues soared to 126 million złoty (€29 million) last year, up from about 50 million złoty before 2015, when the Law and Justice took power.
“In this country, we’ve become so turned around in recent years that we can’t even honor a festival like the WOŚP,” Owsiak said after the stabbing. “Don’t do this … Let’s be Poles who love each other.”