Who is Karol Nawrocki? Conservative historian becomes Poland's next president

Independent

2 days ago

Karol Nawrocki, a 42-year-old conservative historian and amateur boxer, has won Poland's presidential election.
While his liberal opponent Rafal Trzaskowski played up his European credentials, Nawrocki met Donald Trump at the White House and received the U.S. president's backing for his bid for Poland 's top job.
Nawrocki had cultivated a tough-guy image during his campaign, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and boxing rings.
According to the final result from the electoral commission, he won the election with 50.89 per cent of the votes.
Nawrocki had no political experience prior to the campaign and was not even a party member until he was tapped by the conservative Law and Justice party that governed Poland from 2015 to 2023.
His supporters describe him as the embodiment of traditional, patriotic values. Many of them oppose abortion and LGBTQ+ visibility and say Nawrocki reflects the traditional values they grew up with.
Unlike other Eurosceptics in central Europe, such as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico or Hungary's Viktor Orban, Nawrocki supports giving military aid to help Ukraine fend off Russia's three-year-old invasion.
But he has said that, if elected, he will oppose membership in Western alliances for Ukraine, a position that seeks to chime with falling support for Ukrainians among Poles, who have hosted more than a million refugees from across the border.
His backers in the Law and Justice (PiS) party had supported fast-tracking membership in the EU and NATO for Kyiv while in power until late 2023.
Nawrocki's critics said he was fuelling unease over Ukrainian refugees at a time when the far-right is highlighting migration, the cost of living and security. He cited his campaign slogan, Poland First.
"Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
He is likely to follow a similar path to outgoing President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally who has used his veto power to block the pro-EU government's efforts to undo the previous PiS administration's judicial reforms.
The EU says the PiS reforms undermined the independence of the courts.
The fight in the right
In the last two weeks, the candidates mostly fought for the support of people who voted for other candidates in the first round, in particular the far-right's Slawomir Mentzen, who came third with 15 per cent support.
Trzaskowski tried to attract them with promises of deregulation. Nawrocki touted his credentials as head of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), support for gun ownership, traditional families and Christian values, but also a critical tone on Ukraine, in sync with Mentzen's.
His wife Marta, a civil servant, and three children featured strongly in his campaign.
Nawrocki's past has been a topic of intense public debate following a series of negative media reports. There were questions over his acquisition of a flat from a pensioner and an admission that he took part in orchestrated brawls.
"All my sports activities were based on the strength of my heart, the strength of my muscles, my fists," Nawrocki, an amateur boxer, told a debate when confronted over reports he had been involved in mass organised fights between football hooligans. "It was a fair competition, regardless of the form."
His Law and Justice party backers have accused the government of orchestrating the controversies with the help of Poland's special services and liberal media. The government rejects these accusations.
Nawrocki portrayed the election as a referendum on the government, which he described as a metropolitan elite out of touch with their concerns.
"I am simply one of you," he told voters in the eastern town of Biala Podlaska while on the campaign trail.