Two polls last week showed Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition down about 3 percentage points in a month, eroding support roughly a year before Poland’s next election.
Media reports drove the slide by highlighting some doctors’ annual pay above 1 million zloty, or about $264,000, at a time when the healthcare budget is already under strain.
Allegations that politicians received preferential access to treatment deepened the backlash, turning a pay controversy into a broader fairness issue for the ruling camp.
The setback adds pressure on Tusk’s party as healthcare costs and perceived elite privilege become a political liability heading into the election year.