Latest news with #PolandFirst
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on Karol Nawrocki's win: Poland first, perhaps – but Europe comes last
Europe's latest presidential election appears to have delivered not a statesman but a slogan – 'Poland first' – and with it, a rebuke to the centrist prime minister, Donald Tusk. Poland's new head of state will be Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian endorsed by Donald Trump. Mr Nawrocki's improbable rise – from relative obscurity to the presidency – signals the unfortunate entrenchment of nationalist grievance in Polish politics. He now stands poised to paralyse Mr Tusk's agenda and perhaps derail Polish access to European funds – using his presidential power of veto to block government legislation or simply relying on the influence of the conservative constitutional court. Key reforms – judicial overhaul, civil partnerships and abortion rights – are off the table. For a country that once dreamed of anchoring the EU's eastern flank, it is a backward lurch. Mr Tusk's government is a coalition born out of a determination to oust the nationalist-conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), which gained full control of government in 2015 and implemented sweeping changes to the judiciary, media and education. Clashes with Brussels over rule-of-law concerns were a feature of its time in office. However, Mr Tusk's ideologically diverse alliance is fraying under the weight of its own contradictions. Bound more by opposition to the previous regime than a cohesive vision, the coalition has stumbled, hindered by internal conflict between agrarian conservatives and urban progressives. It had hoped its liberal candidate could break the deadlock. As a historian, Mr Nawrocki will be familiar with PiS's winning strategy. This mixes reactionary populism with a cultural reprogramming that seeks to rewrite Poland's recent past to polarise opinion. The party aims to renarrate the country's history with controversial interpretations of Poland's role in the Holocaust, 'decommunisation' and a left-sounding critique of post-1989 economic liberalism. Mr Nawrocki triumphed by tapping conservative, rural and anti-elite sentiment, but also by posing as an outsider. A political novice and former head of a state historical institute, he carried no party baggage and could disavow past PiS failings while vowing to block Mr Tusk at every turn. His blend of historical populism and Euroscepticism struck a chord in a Poland still wrestling with its past and wary of Brussels. Meanwhile, Mr Tusk's popularity is eroding and his authority is weakening: the left calls him ineffective, the right accuses him of betrayal. His hope that voters would tolerate paralysis for the sake of stability has proven misplaced. With President Nawrocki in office until 2030, key reforms are blocked and a second term in 2027 looks unlikely. A resurgent PiS and rising far-right Confederation threaten to consolidate an illiberal majority. Mr Tusk may pursue secondary legislation to get his way. He is calling his allies' bluff with a confidence vote. However, unless the coalition proves it can govern, disillusionment will deepen. Poland's economic success – rooted in EU funds, German supply chains and monetary sovereignty – has produced a paradoxical politics. As Jarosław Kuisz observes in The New Politics of Poland, PiS took Brussels' money while scorning its values. Mr Tusk must defend democracy not just with words but with outcomes. If pro-European governments cannot deliver tangible change, voters will fall for the empty authoritarian promises of certainty. To defeat the populist right, Europeans must prove that democracy works – not just in principle, but in people's lives.
The Sun
2 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Anti-EU football hooligan ‘pimp' Karol Nawrocki wins Poland's presidential election after knife-edge vote
ANTI-EU football hooligan "pimp" Karol Nawrocki has won Poland's presidential election. According to the final result from the electoral commission, right-wing historian with a past of football hooliganism Nawrocki, 42, won the election with a slim 50.89% of the votes. 2 Just six months ago, Nawrocki was a fairly unknown name - but in the run up to the election, the historian posted videos of himself at shooting ranges and boxing rings - cultivating a tough-guy image for voters. While his liberal opponent Rafal Trzaskowski played up his European credentials, Nawrocki met Donald Trump at the White House and received the US President's backing. Unlike other eurosceptics in central Europe like Hungary's Viktor Orban, Nawrocki supports giving military aid to help Ukraine in the bloody war with Russia. But he also revealed prior to his win that he will oppose membership in Western alliances for Ukraine. This view aligns with the falling support among Poles for Ukrainians, with the country having 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. Nawrocki's past has been a topic of intense public debate following a series of negative media coverage. Robert Prevost elected as Pope Leo XIV - the first from North American There were questions over his acquisition of a flat from a pensioner -and even an admission that he took part in orchestrated brawls. Nawrocki, an amateur boxer, told a debate when confronted over reports he had been involved in mass organised fights between football hooligans: "All my sports activities were based on the strength of my heart, the strength of my muscles, my fists. "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. 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. .
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Nawrocki: nationalist historian vying for Polish presidency
Karol Nawrocki, a nationalist historian who has written about the criminal underworld, is heading into Sunday's presidential runoff tied with his opponent, pro-EU Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski. Nawrocki has been endorsed by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which was in power from 2015 to 2023. The party is closely allied with outgoing President Andrzej Duda -- who has backed Nawrocki -- and is a longtime rival of the governing Civic Coalition. Nawrocki's campaign slogan was "Poland first, Poles first". While he has pledged to continue Poland's support for neighbouring Ukraine against Russia's invasion, he has denounced the benefits accorded to the war refugees. He said in a campaign video in April that "social benefits will be above all for Poles" and that "in queues for doctors and clinics, Polish citizens must have priority". Nawrocki also claimed in May that Ukraine "has not shown gratitude for what Poles have done" for the country, and accused its President Volodymyr Zelensky of "insolence". He opposes NATO membership for Ukraine. - Photos with Trump - Nawrocki is an admirer of US President Donald Trump and has said Poland should focus on shaping and leading Europe's relations with the US leader. Nawrocki met Trump at the White House in May and claimed Trump had told him: "You will win". Some lawmakers from the governing coalition have accused Trump of election interference. US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem also endorsed Nawrocki when she attended a conservative conference in Poland, saying: "He needs to be the next president." Nawrocki has called for controls on the border with Germany to keep out migrants, and would like Berlin to pay wartime reparations to Poland. While wooing voters ahead of the razor-edge runoff, Nawrocki signed an eight-point pledge prepared by far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen. The election campaign saw Nawrocki mired in a few scandals. While arguing against a property tax, he claimed to only own one flat. Later it was revealed he had acquired a second one in a convoluted deal with an elderly man. A bombshell news report also alleged he had arranged prostitutes for guests while working as a hotel security guard. Nawrocki called the accusations "a bunch of lies" and said he would sue the news site. Nawrocki was born in the port city of Gdansk, where he played football and boxed in his youth and went on to earn a PhD in history and an MBA. He served as the director of the World War II museum in Gdansk from 2017 to 2021. Since 2021, he has led the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) for investigating Nazi and communist-era crimes. His research interests include Poland's anti-communist opposition, organised crime during the communist era and sports history. Last year, Russia added Nawrocki to its wanted list for his alleged efforts to remove Soviet-era monuments in Poland. Nawrocki said he obtained a gun licence and firearm after winding up in Russia's crosshairs. - Dual identity - Nawrocki has written several books, including one under a pen name that landed him in an unusual scandal. In 2018, he secretly published a book about the communist-era gangster Nikodem Skotarczak using the pseudonym Tadeusz Batyr. That same year, "Batyr" went on state television and with his face blurred and voice altered said Nawrocki had inspired his work. Nawrocki for his part wrote on social media that Batyr had reached out to him for tips, adding: "He thanked me with an interesting book, which I recommend." But local media recently uncovered that Batyr and Nawrocki were one and the same. One TikTok user said: "Maybe they'll substitute Batyr for Nawrocki in the runoff. In any case, the one backs the other. That's two votes already." Politicians from rival camps had a field day with the revelation. Nawrocki has also been accused of links to gangsters and neo-Nazis. He has dismissed the charges as "deep manipulation", saying his contacts with the individuals were for professional purposes. "No one has ever heard a good word from me about Nazism," he said. Nawrocki speaks English, and boxes in his spare time. He said Poland required "a strong president for tough times". He has two children and an adult stepson with his wife, Marta. amj/mmp/cw/yad
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Polish presidential contender talks tough on Ukraine
WARSAW, May 16 (Reuters) - While his main rival plays up his European credentials, nationalist Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki posts videos of himself at shooting ranges and boxing rings or meeting U.S. president Donald Trump at the White House. Unlike other eurosceptics in central Europe, such as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Hungary's Viktor Orban, or George Simion who is running for Romanian president on Sunday when Poland will vote, Nawrocki supports giving military aid to help Ukraine fend off Russia's three-year-old invasion. But he says that, if elected, he will oppose membership in Western alliances for Ukraine until it clears exhumations of the remains of Polish victims killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War Two - a divisive issue between the allies for decades. Ukraine, which began allowing exhumations in April, says the killings - Poland counts over 100,000 victims - were part of a wider conflict between the two nations and that thousands of its own citizens were also killed. Nawrocki's critics say he is fuelling unease over Ukrainian refugees at a time when the far-right is highlighting migration, the cost of living and security. He cites his campaign slogan, Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media last month. Opinion polls show Nawrocki, 42, a conservative historian and amateur boxer, in second place ahead of the ballot, following liberal Warsaw city mayor Rafal Trzaskowski. The two will likely compete in a runoff on June 1. Three years into Ukraine's war with Russia, some Poles blame the roughly one million refugees in the country for lengthy healthcare queues, low pay and packed kindergartens, in an echo of pre-Brexit Britain. Opinion polls show far-right Slawomir Mentzen third in the running and his votes may be crucial for Nawrocki to win in the second round. "It's a policy built on fear towards Ukrainians," said Anna Materska-Sosnowska from Warsaw University. "It's meant to attract (far-right) voters." Historical grievances have long been championed by politicians on the right in Poland, in particular by the arch-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) opposition. PiS attracted wide criticism in the West that it was subverting democratic norms when it governed for eight years until 2023. Although Nawrocki is technically an independent, PiS has fielded him in the presidential vote. As head of the Institute of National Remembrance, which researches crimes against Poland, Nawrocki is also subject to a Russian arrest warrant over its policy of removing monuments commemorating the Red Army's advance at the end of WW2. For Ryszard Przyborowski, a pensioner from western Poland who plans to vote for Trzaskowski, Nawrocki cannot be trusted and his Ukraine policy is unconvincing: "We should focus above all on building good neighbourly relations," he said. Nawrocki's support has edged down in recent weeks amid allegations that he had not declared ownership of an apartment acquired from a vulnerable pensioner. Many people are standing by him, however, saying he understands their struggles with the cost of living and migration. Critics have also raised doubts about acquaintances from his youth, including football hooligans and convicted criminals, some of whom were reported to have taken part in events organised by the WW2 museum in Gdansk when he managed it. Nawrocki dismisses the criticism, distancing himself from the convicts and saying his football fans are Polish citizens like any other.
