Warsaw, Poland – Conservative Karol Nawrocki won the presidential election of the Poland weekend, according to the final vote on Monday. Nawrocki won 50.89% of the votes in a very tight race against the liberal mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11%.
The race had been in Poland on the edge for a first round two weeks earlier, revealing profound divisions in the country along the eastern side of NATO and the European Union.
An early outing survey published Sunday evening suggested that Trzaskowski was heading for victory before the update survey begins to reverse the photo a few hours later.
Sean Gallup / Getty images
The result suggests that Poland can take a more populist and nationalist path under its new leader, who was supported by President Trump.
Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban praised the victory of Nawrocki, according to the French news agency AFP.
The president of the EU commission, Ursula von der Leyen, congratulated Nawrocki. In A post on xShe said she was “convinced that the EU will continue her very good cooperation with Poland”.
Most of the daily power in the Polish political system rests with a Prime Minister, which is chosen by Parliament. However, the role of the president is not simply ceremonial. The office holds the power to influence the policy of foreign policy and veto.
Nawrocki will succeed Andrzej Duda, a curator whose second and last mandate ends on August 6.
Under the Polish Constitution, the president serves a five -year term and can be re -elected once.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk came to power at the end of 2023 with a coalition government that extends over a large ideological gap – so wide that it has not been able to make some of Tusk’s electoral promises, such as the relaxation of the restrictive abortion law or the adoption of a law on civil partnership for the same sex couples.
But Duda’s right of veto was another obstacle. He prevented Tusk from carrying out the promises of overthrowing the laws that politicized the judicial system in a way that the European Union has declared undemocratic.
Now it seems that Tusk will have no way to make these promises, that he has made both voters and the EU.
Some Poland observers have declared that unwarmed promises could make Tusk more difficult for Tusk to continue his mandate until the next parliamentary election scheduled for the end of 2027, in particular if law and justice are the prospect of future cooperation with the Conservatives in his coalition.
Incoming president
Nawrocki, a 42 -year -old boxer and historian, was operated by the Law and Justice party as part of his push for a new start.
The party ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023 when it lost power to a centrist coalition led by Tusk. Some political observers have predicted that the party would never return, and Nawrocki was chosen as a new face which would not be burned by the scandals of the eight years of party rule.
The strategy clearly worked.
Nawrocki was recently the head of the Institute of National Souvenir, which embraces nationalist historical stories. He led efforts to reverse the monuments to the Soviet Red Army in Poland, and Russia responded by putting him on a desired list, according to the Polish media.
Nawrocki supporters describe him as the embodiment of traditional patriotic values. Those who oppose secular tendencies, including LGBTQ +visibility, kissed it, considering it as a reflection of the values with which they grew up.
Nawrocki’s candidacy was obscured by allegations of previous links with criminal figures and its participation in a violent street fight. He denies the criminal links but without excuse on the street fight, saying that he had participated in “noble” fights in his life. The revelations did not seem to harm his support among the right -wing voters, many of whom consider allegations as a political motivation.
Nawrocki approved by Trump
Trump clearly said he wanted Nawrocki as President of Poland.
He welcomed Nawrocki to the White House a month ago. And last week, the conservative group The CPAC held its first meeting in Poland To give Nawrocki a boost. Kristi Noem, the American secretary for internal security and an eminent allied of Trump, strongly congratulated Nawrocki and urged the posts to vote for him.
The United States has around 10,000 soldiers stationed in Poland and Noem suggested that military ties could deepen with Nawrocki as president.
A common refrain of Nawrocki supporters is that he will restore “normality”, as they believe that Mr. Trump did. American flags have often appeared during Nawrocki gatherings, and his supporters thought they had offered a better chance of good links with the Trump administration.
Nawrocki also echoes part of Mr. Trump’s language on Ukraine. He promises to continue the support of Poland to Ukraine But criticized President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of taking advantage of the allies. He accused Ukrainian refugees to take advantage of Polish generosity, promising to prioritize the centers for social services such as health care and schooling.