Latest news with #RafalTrzaskowski
France 24
5 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Pro-Trump nationalist to take over as Poland's new president
Nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki, a political novice, will be inaugurated after winning a June 1 election in a major blow for Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former European Council president. Rallies of support for the new president are expected in Warsaw as Nawrocki begins his five-year mandate with a speech to parliament. Nawrocki, who sought US President Donald Trump's backing during the campaign, is set to take the oath of office and give a speech to parliament at around 0800 GMT. His narrow victory against liberal candidate Rafal Trzaskowski confirmed the high degree of political polarisation in the EU and NATO member state, a key supporter of neighbouring Ukraine. Presidents in Poland can initiate as well as veto legislation, and have some influence over the country's foreign and defence policies. The outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, had already been at loggerheads with Tusk over many issues, including opposing easing an almost total ban on abortion. 'Annoy us' But relations are likely to be even worse under Nawrocki as the political climate heats up ahead of parliamentary elections planned for 2027, analysts say. "I have no doubt that Mr Nawrocki will do everything to annoy us," said Tusk, who warned that he would not let Nawrocki "demolish" his government. Nawrocki has repeatedly branded Tusk's government as "the worst in the history" of democratic Poland. He has promised to be "an active president" from the start and has said he wants to "stimulate" the government with various bills. In a video posted on social media on Tuesday, he said his inauguration would open "a new chapter in the history of our beloved Poland". "Let us unite," he said. The government holds a parliamentary majority but government and president may be forced to make some compromises. "Both parties should realise that engaging in intense confrontation is obviously not the way forward," said Piotr Trudnowski, a member of Klub Jagiellonski, a Christian-Democrat think tank. 'Poland First, Poles First' Ewa Marciniak, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw, said that Nawrocki would have to work with the government on foreign policy -- in which he has "no experience". During the election campaign, he highlighted the importance of ties with the United States and his close ties with Trump. "It is precisely from this that he will build his foreign policy, at least initially," Marciniak said. One major difference could be relations with Ukraine. Trudnowski said Nawrocki would "not be as enthusiastic" as his predecessor on Ukraine. During his campaign, Nawrocki opposed the idea of NATO membership for Ukraine and criticised Kyiv for not having "shown gratitude for what the Poles have done". Under his slogan "Poland First, Poles First", he was critical of some of the benefits received by the more than one million Ukrainians who have fled to the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated Nawrocki and emphasised the importance of close ties with Poland -- a vital transit country for military and humanitarian supplies to his country as it fights off Russia's invasion. After speaking to Nawrocki by phone last week, Zelensky said the two had agreed to visit each other and seek forms of cooperation "that will bring real results for both our countries and our people". Zelensky said he was "thankful for the readiness to work together and for the assurance of continued support for Ukraine".
South China Morning Post
7 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Poland braces for confrontation between incoming president and prime minister
Poland's new pro-Trump, nationalist president takes office this week, setting the scene for major confrontation with a prime minister whose government he has branded 'the worst in history'. Advertisement Karol Nawrocki, a political novice, will be inaugurated on Wednesday after winning a June 1 election in a major blow for Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-EU government. Nawrocki's close-run victory against liberal candidate Rafal Trzaskowski confirmed the high degree of political polarisation in the EU and Nato member state, a key supporter of its neighbour Ukraine. Presidents in Poland can initiate as well as veto legislation, and have some influence over the country's foreign and defence policies. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk. File photo: AP The current president, Andrzej Duda, had already been at loggerheads with Tusk over many issues, including easing an almost total ban on abortion.
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland braces for clashes with new nationalist president
Poland's new pro-Trump, nationalist president takes office this week, setting the scene for major confrontation with a prime minister he has branded "the worst in history". Karol Nawrocki, a political novice, will be inaugurated Wednesday after winning a June 1 election in a major blow for Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-EU government. Nawrocki's close-run victory against liberal candidate Rafal Trzaskowski confirmed the high degree of political polarisation in the EU and NATO member state, a key supporter of its neighbour Ukraine. Presidents in Poland can initiate as well as veto legislation, and have some influence over the country's foreign and defence policies. The current president, Andrzej Duda, had already been at loggerheads with Tusk over many issues, including easing an almost total ban on abortion. But relations are likely to be even worse under Nawrocki as the political climate heats up ahead of parliamentary elections planned for 2027, analysts said. "I have no doubt that Mr Nawrocki will do everything to annoy us," said Tusk, who warned that he would not let Nawrocki "demolish" his government. Speaking in an interview with the TVN news channel, Tusk also emphasised that the country's policies were "my responsibility and will remain so". Nawrocki has repeatedly branded Tusk's government as "the worst in the history" of democratic Poland. He has promised to be "an active president" from the start and has said he wants to "stimulate" the government with various bills. The government holds a parliamentary majority but the two sides may be forced to make some compromises. "Both parties should realise that engaging in intense confrontation is obviously not the way forward," said Piotr Trudnowski, a member of Klub Jagiellonski, a Christian-Democrat think tank. - 'Poland First, Poles First' - Ewa Marciniak, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw, said that Nawrocki would have to work together with the government on foreign policy -- an area in which he has "no experience". During the election campaign, he highlighted the importance of ties with the United States. An admirer of US President Donald Trump, Nawrocki met with the US leader briefly at the White House shortly before the first round of the election. "It is precisely from this that he will build his foreign policy, at least initially," Marciniak said. Nawrocki will face a highly experienced pro-EU duo -- Tusk, a former president of the European Council, and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. Trudnowski said Nawrocki would "not be as enthusiastic" as his predecessor on ties with Ukraine. During his campaign, Nawrocki opposed the idea of NATO membership for Ukraine and criticised Kyiv for not having "shown gratitude for what the Poles have done". Under his slogan "Poland First, Poles First", he was critical of some of the benefits received by the more than one million Ukrainian refugees in the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated Nawrocki and emphasised the importance of close ties with Poland -- a vital transit country for military and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine. After speaking to Nawrocki by phone on Thursday, Zelensky said the two had agreed to visit each other and seek forms of cooperation "that will bring real results for both our countries and our people". Zelensky said he was "thankful for the readiness to work together and for the assurance of continued support for Ukraine". sw/dt/gv/tc
Bloomberg
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Tusk Says Ballot Recount Unlikely to Reverse Presidential Result
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said suspected voting irregularities in the country's June 1 presidential election were unlikely to lead to a reversal of the victory of nationalist Karol Nawrocki. The premier called for a recount of votes from some polling station in the contest, in which his ally, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, was narrowly defeated. Poland's Supreme Court, which validates the election, received thousands of complaints after the tight election.
The Star
17-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Polish liberal candidate's team lodge protest over presidential election
FILE PHOTO: Civic Coalition presidential candidate, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski flashes the victory sign during the election evening, in Warsaw, Poland, June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo WARSAW (Reuters) -The campaign team of the defeated candidate in Poland's presidential election lodged a protest over alleged voting irregularities, its head said late on Monday, part of a wave of complaints from supporters of liberal Rafal Trzaskowski. Trzaskowski, from the ruling Civic Coalition (KO), was narrowly defeated by nationalist Karol Nawrocki in the June 1 second round, with the nationalist candidate backed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party getting 50.89% of the vote. Media reported irregularities in the second round and the Supreme Court has ordered a recount in 13 commissions, but this won't affect the final result materially. "In a democratic electoral process, every voter's vote must be guaranteed due respect by state institutions. The election protest of (Trzaskowski's) campaign representative was sent to the Supreme Court," the chief of Trzaskowski's campaign, Wiola Paprocka, wrote on X late on Monday. She gave no details of the wording of the protest. Another member of the Trzaskowski campaign team, Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said on Saturday he was filing a protest privately, pointing to an unusual increase in spoiled or blank ballots in areas where Trzaskowski won in the first round. He said that according to a model from UCE Research, there were 800 polling stations where Nawrocki had a "suspiciously high" score, and referred to irregularities in polling stations where a recount has already been ordered. The PiS party says that Trzaskowski's supporters are trying to undermine Poles' faith in the democratic process. Current president and PiS ally Andrzej Duda said on June 9 that "liberal-leftists, want to... take away our freedom of choice." Poles had until Monday to lodge protests with the Supreme Court, and the court has around two weeks to hear them. The Polish electoral commission on Monday confirmed the result of the election but said that in the second round, there were "incidents that could have affected the outcome of the vote." It said it would leave an assessment of these incidents to the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court spokesperson said on Monday that it had already registered over 3,000 protests and expected many more. (Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Alan Charlish and Bernadette Baum)
