Poland elects nationalist Karol Nawrocki as president

CBC

02-06-2025

Nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki narrowly won Poland's presidential election, results showed Monday, delivering a major blow to the centrist government's efforts to cement Warsaw's pro-European orientation.
Nawrocki secured 50.89 per cent of the vote, election commission data showed — an outcome that presages more political gridlock as he is likely to use his presidential veto to thwart Prime Minister Donald Tusk's liberal policy agenda.
Tusk's government has been seeking to reverse judicial reforms made by the previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government, but current President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, has blocked its efforts.
Nawrocki's rival, Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal Warsaw mayor who was standing for Tusk's ruling Civic Coalition (KO), got 49.11 per cent, the data showed. Turnout was 71.31 per cent, the electoral commission said, a record for the second round of a presidential election.
"I'm sorry that I didn't manage to convince the majority of citizens of my vision of Poland," Trzaskowski said on X. "I congratulate Karol Nawrocki on winning the presidential election."
While Poland's parliament holds most power, the president can veto legislation and influence foreign policy, and the vote was being watched closely in Ukraine, as well as Russia, the United States and the European Union.
Nawrocki, like his predecessor Duda, is expected to block any attempts by the Tusk government to liberalize abortion or reform the judiciary.
"Everything was on a knife edge," said 32-year-old IT specialist Patryk Marek. "Feelings are for sure mixed for this moment. But how small this margin was, it tells us how divided we are, almost in half, as voters."
Zelenskyy congratulates winner
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among the leaders offering their congratulations to Nawrocki on Monday morning, an acknowledgement of Poland's key role as a neighbour, ally and hub for Western weapons sent to Kyiv in its war against Russia.
"I look forward to continued fruitful co-operation with Poland and with President Nawrocki," Zelenskyy said.
Nawrocki was backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, with about 10,000 American troops stationed in Poland.
Nawrocki, 42, a newcomer to politics who previously ran a national remembrance institute, has echoed some of Trump's language on Ukraine. He promises to continue Poland's support for Ukraine but has been critical of Zelenskyy, accusing him of taking advantage of allies, and he opposes Ukraine membership in Western alliances.
The candidate also has accused Ukrainian refugees of taking advantage of Polish generosity, vowing to prioritize Poles for social services such as health care and schooling.
Nawrocki vowed to protect Poland's sovereignty and railed against what he said was excessive interference in the country's affairs from the European Union in Brussels. The EU took the previous PiS government to court over its judicial reforms, saying they undermined the rule of law and democratic standards.
In a meeting with Slawomir Mentzen, the far-right candidate who was in third place in the first round of the election, Nawrocki signed a declaration that he will not agree to any European treaties that would "weaken the position of Poland."
Nawrocki shakes off allegations
Nawrocki won despite his past dominating the last days of the presidential campaign, including allegations of past connections to criminal figures and his participation in a violent street brawl. He denies the criminal links but was unapologetic about the street fight, saying he had taken part in "noble" fights in his life.
Congratulations poured in from other nationalist and eurosceptic politicians. The defeated hard-right candidate in Romania's election, George Simion, wrote on X "Poland WON," while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hailed a "fantastic victory."
The run-off vote in Poland came just two weeks after Romania's centrist Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, had dealt a blow to hard-right and nationalist forces in central Europe by winning that country's presidential contest.
The result could lend momentum to the Czech Republic's eurosceptic opposition leader and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who leads opinion polls ahead of an October election. Babis offered "warm congratulations" on X.