Krzysztof Kononowicz

Who is Krzysztof Kononowicz?

Krzysztof Kononowicz was a 2006 candidate for the office of mayor of Białystok during the local elections in Poland. He attracted some notoriety for his purposely unsophisticated political advertisement, first aired on local TV and featured heavily on YouTube.

In 2006, Krzysztof Kononowicz, a 43 year-old driver-mechanic and pig farmer living with his widowed mother Leonarda, became a candidate of the electoral committee Podlaskie of the 21st Century. Several weeks before the elections, Adam Czeczetkowicz, activist of the fringe far-right Polish National Party, convinced him to run for mayor and make the advertisement. Within several days, over 3 million Internet users had seen the commercial on YouTube, posted by Kononowicz's electoral committee. The video also made it to Polish national TV. Soon merchandise were being sold on the Internet.

Kononowicz won only 1,676 votes, but became by far the most remembered person of the 2006 elections, featured as guest in several television shows. He became a popular Internet meme in Poland in the 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.