Right-wing candidate wins Poland's presidential election in huge blow to pro-EU PM Donald Tusk

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Poland has elected conservative eurosceptic Karol Nawrocki as its new president after a staggering turnaround to clinch 50.89 per cent of the vote.
Nawrocki, 42, narrowly overcame Warsaw's centrist liberal mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, 53, who scored 49.11 per cent of the vote in Sunday's runoff.
Supported by the Law and Justice party (PiS), Nawrocki is expected to follow his predecessor, Andrzej Duda, in blocking the reform agenda of the government.
While president is a largely ceremonial role in Poland, he will now have the power to veto prime minister Donald Tusk's pro-EU programme and liberalising policies.
Tusk came to power in 2023, promising to restore the rule of law, reform the courts and state media, and to liberalise abortion - purging institutions of cronies installed by the PiS government over its eight years in power.
His coalition government does not have a large enough majority in parliament to overturn pushback from the president, who will look to stall Tusk's reversals.
Nawrocki campaigned on a promise to ensure economic and social policies favour Poles over other nationalities, including refugees from neighbouring Ukraine.
His election comes at a sensitive time, with Poland one of the leading countries in the EU and one of few positioned to face down a belligerent Russia.
Turnout in the second round of the election reached 72.8 per cent, according to Ipsos - the highest of any presidential election in Poland's history.
Unlike other eurosceptics in central Europe, including Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and 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.
In an interview on May 22, Nawrocki - who enjoys backing from Donald Trump - said he opposed Ukraine joining NATO, breaking from the position of previous PiS candidates.
His backers at home 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.
Without Trzaskowski in the presidential role, Tusk will face an uphill battle to pass legislation looking to undo the work of the former PiS government.
Outgoing president Duda has already blocked some reforms and appointments by Tusk, limiting progress.
Nawrocki's win will block the government's progressive agenda for abortion and LGBTQ rights and could revive tensions with Brussels over rule of law issues.
It could also undermine strong ties with neighbouring Ukraine, with Nawrocki looking to cut benefits for Ukrainian refugees.
Nawrocki, a historian and amateur boxer, won in spite of questions around his past dominating the presidential campaign.
It has been reported that in the early 2000s he arranged sex workers for guests staying a hotel where he worked, allegations he denies.
Questions also remain over his acquisition of a flat from a pensioner to an admission that he took part in orchestrated mass brawls of football hooligans in his 20s.
Nawrocki visited the White House during his campaign and said he had been told by Trump: 'You will win.'
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem also endorsed Nawrocki when she attended a conservative conference in Poland last week, saying: 'He needs to be the next president.'
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday congratulated Nawrocki on winning, adding she was 'confident' that 'very good cooperation' would continue with Warsaw.
'We are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy, and values. So let us work to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home,' she said on X.
Hungary's prime minister hailed the 'fantastic victory'.
'What a nail-biter!,' Viktor Orban wrote on X. 'We are looking forward to working with you.'
Not all were convinced by Nawrocki's election. Poland's blue-chip index WIG20 was down around 3.39% at 7:01 GMT.