Pupils at schools in Warsaw received an unusual justification for being late for class after the city’s mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, recorded a video with them from a new train service that was hit by delays.
“I’m with the mayor and I’d like to apologise to you for being late,” said a high-school student in a video addressed to her German teacher, which she later posted to her TikTok account, where it has been viewed over 3.6 million times in two days.
“We both apologise,” chimed in the Trzaskowski. “We’re very sorry. Please excuse [her absence]. I confirm that we’re on the train at 10:20 a.m.”
@ktotomajdza Filmik z prezydentem!! #foryoupage #dlaciebie #viral #foryou #skm #s40 #rafałtrzaskowski ♬ dźwięk oryginalny – majdża
The mayor also tweeted a photo showing that he had signed papers excusing other school and university students on the train for being late for classes.
Trzaskowski was on the train to inaugurate new rail services running between Warsaw and Piaseczno, a town on the outskirts of the capital. While the 20-kilometre journey is meant to take 35 minutes, the inaugural trip was unexpectedly delayed due to problems on the rail network.
In the TikTok video and on Twitter, Trzaskowski claimed that the delays were not the fault of Warsaw’s municipal authorities but of PKP, Poland’s main national state railway operator.
Przejazd z Piaseczna do centrum @warszawa będzie zajmował ok. 35 min. Dzisiejszy nie obył się bez przygód, które zaserwowały nam prace PKP na torach. Na szczęście jadącym z nami uczennicom i studentkom usprawiedliwienia za spóźnienie mogłem wypisać osobiście 😀 pic.twitter.com/TIeumiltJv
— Rafał Trzaskowski (@trzaskowski_) March 13, 2023
PKP has, however, not admitted any fault for widespread delays this week, instead blaming the “incompetence of local government [rail] carriers” for causing timetable clashes.
In the end, Trzaskowski and the other officials accompanying him were unable to get to their final destination in Warsaw by train as planned, and had to instead get a bus part of the way, reports Polsat News.
At the time of writing, it is not known whether the student’s German teacher accepted the mayor’s justification for her absence.
Poland's conservative ruling party has joined TikTok, saying it will challenge the "radical anti-PiS messages flooding social media"
It is the last of Poland's major parties to join the platform, where they are campaigning ahead of this autumn's elections https://t.co/7lhU2iyKDo
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 16, 2023
Main image credit: Rafał Trzaskowski/Twitter and ktotomajdza/TikTok
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
