Poland's new president sticks to nationalist script
Today's short speech by Poland's new president Karol Nawrocki at his inauguration ceremony in the Polish parliament repeated much of what he had said on the election campaign trail earlier this year.
Mr Nawrocki, a conservative and eurosceptic, promised to lead a "sovereign Polish Poland" that is part of the European Union but said he will oppose any moves by the bloc "to take away Polish competencies".
He also warned that Poland should "no longer be a subsidiary economy" for Western Europe, signaling that he favours protectionist measures for Polish firms much like the policies of another president that he greatly admires: Donald J. Trump.
He took aim at the current pro-EU coalition government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, saying that Poland was "not on the path of the rule of law".
Mr Tusk and his senior ministers looked fairly unimpressed as they listened to the new president's speech, while conservative Law and Justice (PiS) deputies celebrated. Their party had backed Mr Nawrocki during the campaign.
Mr Nawrocki's narrow election victory on 1 June all but ended any chances Mr Tusk's government has of reversing the changes that PiS made to the judiciary when it governed Poland from 2015 and 2023. Those changes included stacking the country's constitutional court with conservative judges.
Given that the Polish president has the power to veto legislation, political deadlock is likely to ensue until the next parliamentary election in 2027. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (L) and deputy prime ministers during Karol Nawrocki's inauguration
The most surprising element of Mr Nawrocki's speech was his announcement that he wants to start a discussion on adopting a new Polish constitution by 2030, which would mark the end of his five-year term.
Poland's current constitution has been in place since 1997 and there is little discussion around changing it in political circles.
But Mr Nawrocki seems intent on pushing for constitutional change, though what that change may mean exactly is not yet known.
He also plans to convene a meeting of cabinet ministers this month to discuss the state of the country.
The implied meaning throughout his speech was that Poland needs to be fixed and, at one point, promised to be the voice of Poles who "want a normal Poland".
However, 49% of the electorate who did not vote for him would likely disagree that their country needs radical constitutional change.
A social conservative, Mr Nawrocki is likely to veto any bills the government puts forward on civil union for same-sex couples or move to liberalise the country's current strict abortion laws, though the coalition itself is divided on the latter.
While Mr Tusk's centre-right party and a small left-wing party support the liberalisation of abortion legislation, a conservative bloc within the coalition does not.
There are a couple of areas where the new president and government share some common ground.
One is immigration.
Mr Nawrocki said today that he will oppose "illegal immigration" as he had repeated on the campaign trail. The Polish president has the power to veto legislation, meaning political deadlock is likely to ensue until the next parliamentary election in 2027
Likewise, Mr Tusk's government has pursued a tough line on stopping irregular migrants from entering Poland since it came to power in December 2023.
In early July, the government reintroduced border checks with Germany and Lithuania, while Poland's border with Belarus is heavily militarised and divided by a steel fence.
Opposing immigration is a rallying cry for Poland's nationalists, though in reality the country receives relatively small numbers of asylum seekers compared to other large European countries.
The other point of common ground is defence and national security.
During his speech, Mr Nawrocki said he supports the modernisation of Poland's armed forces. So too does the government.
It is expected to spend 4.7% on defence this year and plans to increase spending to more than 5% in 2026.
The number of army reservists will also be expanded to more than 500,000 in the coming years and a programme of voluntary military training for all young men and women is due to be rolled out by the end of this year.
Mr Tusk told reporters after today's ceremony that his government was ready for confrontation with the new president but also complimented Mr Nawrocki on the quality of his speech.
Diplomatic words ahead of what is likely to be two years of an uneasy cohabitation between the prime minister and the president.
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