Polish activist and YouTuber
Krzysztof Kononowicz
|
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Krzysztof Kononowicz, 2000
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Born
| (
1963-01-21
)
21 January 1963
(age 61)
|
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Nationality
| Polish
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Known for
| Videoblogging, streaming, political activity
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Krzysztof Kononowicz
(born 21 January 1963, in
K?trzyn
) is a Polish politician, internet celebrity and social activist. In 2006, he ran for
mayor
of
Białystok
during the
local elections
in
Poland
. He attracted notoriety for his purposely unsophisticated political advertisement, first aired on local TV and featured heavily on
YouTube
.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
Kononowicz comes from a family of
Borderlands Poles
origin. His parents Bronisław (8 May 1908 ?5 October 2004) and Leonarda (nee Bykowicz) (c. 1931?1 September 2012) lived in the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
, part of the
Soviet Union
. They came to
Poland
in 1958.
[2]
[3]
They lived in the village of
Wilkowo
, near K?trzyn.
[2]
In 2006, Krzysztof Kononowicz, a 43-year-old driver-mechanic living with his widowed mother Leonarda (now deceased) and mentally ill older brother Bogumił ( b. circa 1959 or 1960 d. 21 January 2013) became a candidate of the electoral committee
Podlachia
of the 21st Century
(Podlasie XXI Wieku). Several weeks before the elections, Adam Czeczetkowicz, an activist of the fringe far-right
Polish National Party
(supported by the party leader Leszek Bubel),
[4]
convinced him to run for mayor and make the advertisement, which aired on
TV Jard
's program profiling the candidates. Within several days, over 3 million Internet users had seen the commercial on YouTube (English version
[5]
), posted by Kononowicz's electoral committee. The video also made it to Polish national TV. Soon merchandise (including the characteristic sweater supposedly belonging to Kononowicz) were being sold on the Internet.
[1]
Kononowicz got only 1,676 votes (1.9%), but became the most remembered person of the 2006 elections, featured as a guest in several television shows. He became a popular
Internet meme
in Poland in late 2006 and early 2007. He was also voted "personality of the year" in the poll by the Polish
web portal
Onet.pl
. In several interviews, he stated that he wants to be a candidate for the
President of Poland
at the next election, while Czeczetkowicz's representatives said they wanted him to be a candidate for the post of mayor of
Warsaw
.
[4]
It is unclear if Kononowicz himself was aware, in the beginning, that his newly established "popularity" was highly derogatory. The leading Polish politician
Donald Tusk
called him "an unfortunate man". Foreign press described him as "like
Borat
, except not acting but the real thing".
[1]
[6]
In March 2007, Kononowicz was accused by his neighbours of
abusing
his elderly mother. Both Kononowicz and his mother denied the accusations, but the police still decided to investigate.
[4]
The investigation ended two months later and Kononowicz was cleared of all charges.
[7]
He was featured in the 2010 movie
Ciacho
directed by
Patryk Vega
as a prosecutor, much to reviewers' acclaim, especially given the movie being a flop.
[8]
In December 2018, Kononowicz announced his candidacy for
President of Poland
.
[9]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
The sweater that has Poland in stitches
,
The Age
, November 15, 2006
- ^
a
b
Redakcja (2006-11-17).
"Kim pan jest, panie Kononowicz?"
.
Gda?sk Nasze Miasto
(in Polish)
. Retrieved
2020-08-19
.
- ^
"KRZYSZTOF KONONOWICZ: Czuj? si? Warmiakiem"
.
Olsztyn24
(in Polish)
. Retrieved
2020-08-19
.
- ^
a
b
c
(in Polish)
Kononowicz wykorzystywał seksualnie matk??
,
Dziennik Polska-Europa-?wiat
, 14 March 2007
- ^
[????????] 17 School St. Universe Prologue - TV Yard Election Debate 2006
, retrieved
2022-02-09
- ^
(in German)
Polen-Borat im Proll-Pulli
,
Der Spiegel
, November 17, 2006
- ^
(in Polish)
Kto? wrabiał Kononowicza
Archived
2009-02-21 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Dziennik Polska-Europa-?wiat
, 22 May 2007
- ^
(in Polish)
[1]
, November 16, 2021
- ^
"Kononowicz wystartuje w wyborach na prezydenta Polski! "To nie jest ?art" [VIDEO]"
. 22 December 2018.