Latest news with #conservatism
The Independent
17 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Who is Karol Nawrocki? Conservative historian becomes Poland's next president
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.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
The Cerebral, Bach-Loving Patrician Who Wrote Trump's Playbook
In a memorable exchange during a Republican primary debate in January 2016, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas needled the upstart candidate Donald Trump, saying he was not a true conservative and adding, 'Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan.' Mr. Trump was ready with a retort. 'Conservatives actually do come out of Manhattan,' he replied, 'including William F. Buckley.' It was obvious why Mr. Trump would invoke William F. Buckley Jr. — the author, columnist, magazine editor, TV debater and political candidate who died at 82 in 2008 (and who did work for decades in Manhattan). Mr. Buckley was the leading intellectual architect of the modern conservative movement — indeed, he personified it for more than 50 years. But by what reasoning could Mr. Trump rightfully claim a connection with him? Outwardly, Mr. Buckley, with his patrician manner, salon wit and gold-plated vocabulary, his passion for Bach and connoisseur's taste for fine writing, could not have been less like Mr. Trump. And in policy terms, Mr. Trump's love of tariffs, defense of entitlement programs and isolationist tendencies were at odds with Mr. Buckley's fondness for the free market, skepticism of big government and support for a muscular foreign policy. In fact, in the winter of 2016, the editors of National Review, the venerable political journal Mr. Buckley founded in 1955, devoted an entire issue to making the case against Mr. Trump. They invited conservatives 'across the spectrum' to argue that he was a 'philosophically unmoored political opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological consensus within the G.O.P. in favor of a free-floating populism with strongman overtones.' Since then, the ranks of anti- or 'never' Trump conservatives have thinned almost to extinction, in the pages of National Review and elsewhere. Mr. Trump controls the Republican Party top to bottom and commands the loyalty of its policy minds as well as the thriving right-wing media ecosphere. His vision, it seems, has prevailed. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast banned from discussing politics amid wild pro-Trump accusations
The cast of Hulu's hit series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives have reportedly been banned from discussing their political views. The show, which follows a group of Mormon momfluencers from the notoriously conservative Utah, have often been accused by viewers of supporting Donald Trump. Cast member Mayci Neeley broke her silence on the group's politics this week on TikTok after a follower commented, 'If only you weren't a Trump supporter.' Firing back, the 30-year-old wrote, 'These assumptions are wild. Contractually we aren't allowed to talk about our political views.' She continued, 'So I'm sick of seeing these comments on every post even though no one knows my views. They assume since I'm Mormon that I am super conservative and that's not the case.' This isn't the first time that the Mormon Wives cast have been pegged as Trump supporters. There are countless threads on Reddit speculating about the group's political leanings, with some fans even finding out which political figures the cast follow on social media. While the cast refuse to comment on their personal political views, Utah is one of the most conservatives states in America. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a significant influence on the state's culture and politics. Around 60 percent of Utah residents are members of the LDS Church, which traditionally supports conservative values. The second season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has been a blockbuster hit so far. In its first five days, the series amassed over five million on Hulu and Disney+. Season two saw the addition of TikTok influencer Miranda McWhorter, 26, who is an original member of MomTok and was once best friends with Taylor Frankie Paul. Unsurprisingly, she was also implicated in Taylor's swinging scandal. Season one of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives revolved around MomTok, a group of glamorous Mormon influencers led by Taylor who were plunged into a sex scandal when Taylor outed herself as a swinger. Last year, The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives was ranked the number one unscripted show on Hulu, becoming the streamer's biggest premiere since The Kardashians. The 30-year-old wrote, 'These assumptions are wild. Contractually we aren't allowed to talk about our political views' Sparks flew between the members of the principal cast, which was made up of Taylor, Jen Affleck, Demi Engemann, Whitney Leavitt, Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley, Jessi Ngatikaura, Layla Taylor. The show caused a stir both online and in the LDS church thanks to the outrageous antics of the cast. Some of the wild scenes on the show have included a sex act involving breakfast cereal, a swinging scandal, a drunken arrest, and a trip to a male strip revue in Vegas. One cast member also revealed the results of her labiaplasty on camera, while another confessed to getting pregnant to her now-husband when she was just 16 and he was 21. The series is produced by the team behind Netflix's My Unorthodox Life, which followed designer Julia Haart after leaving her strict orthodox Jewish community behind to become a hotshot in the fashion world.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Hungary's Orban backs Polish nationalist presidential candidate Nawrocki at CPAC
BUDAPEST, May 29 (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban championed Polish nationalist presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki at the CPAC Hungary conference on Thursday and announced a "patriotic plan" that he said should "transform" the European Union. Nationalist Orban, who has been a long-time ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the United States' most prominent conservative gathering, in Budapest. "Long live Nawrocki," Orban said ahead of Sunday's second round of the Polish presidential election. The candidate from Poland's ruling Civic Coalition (KO), Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, leads Nawrocki in the latest polls ahead of the vote. Trump addressed the Budapest conference in a pre-recorded video message and called Orban a "great man". Orban, who early next year faces the toughest election challenge since he swept to power in 2010, has scaled up his attacks on the media and LGBTQ+ people since Trump's inauguration in January. On Thursday he said Trump's reelection has "changed the world" and presented a plan to reshape the EU in a conservative fashion. Orban again rejected EU membership for Ukraine, said he opposed joint European taxation or borrowing, and reiterated his stance on protecting national sovereignty. "We want to take Europe back from migrants. We want a Christian culture, schools based on national principles," Orban said in his speech. He also welcomed former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis as a speaker at the conference and endorsed the populist politician ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for early October. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, another Orban ally, is also scheduled to address CPAC later in the day.
Fox News
5 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Harvard professor urges university to embrace ideological balance amid clash with Trump admin
Harvard professor Arthur Brooks urged Harvard to see the Trump administration's back and forth with the university as an opportunity for growth and to increase ideological balance at the elite institution during an interview on Wednesday. "I mean, the whole point of this is not just to get through the crisis. The whole point is to actually see it as an opportunity for change, for growth. That's what we should all do in our lives, and every organization should do. When you have a bad crisis, when you have a big problem, you say, what's the opportunity for us to actually improve? That's how universities need to think," Brooks told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." Host Joe Scarborough argued that while he was deeply disturbed by the Trump administration's actions towards the university, he was also concerned about elite universities lacking viewpoint diversity and employing very few conservative professors. Brooks agreed, saying, "And you're exactly correct. Look, I'm a conservative. I've been a political conservative my whole career," adding, "They've been very open to me at Harvard. But the truth of the matter is, we need more people that actually think differently than the masses. We need more people than just sort of 20:1 liberals to conservatives. And we need to be on top of that and see this as an opportunity to get more ideological balance." Brooks argued that it wasn't because Harvard needed to have equal ideological representation, but because students' education is "mediocre" when liberal viewpoints aren't challenged. "Why? Not because we believe that you have to go one-to-one in fairness. None of that. We don't need affirmative action for conservatives. But because when your liberal ideas on campus are not challenged, your education is mediocre and that's just not right," Brooks said. Scarborough went on to argue that the left has lost elections due to "intellectual laziness," which he suggested was the result of a lack of viewpoint diversity. "Now we talk about why the left may be adrift and lost. The other side of that is the intellectual laziness that occurs every time you open your mouth, and they all agree with you, and you're part of groupthink, so you never have to defend your ideas. So when you go out and run a campaign, and you think everybody's going to agree with you, it's just the opposite. You never had to be on your toes before, intellectually. And now you do. And you lose elections because of it," Scarborough said. The Trump administration asked all federal agencies on Tuesday to find ways to terminate all federal contracts with Harvard amid an ongoing standoff over foreign students' records at the Ivy League school. After the administration also announced it would be eliminating the student visa program at the university, citing "pro-terrorist conduct" at campus protests, a judge temporarily paused the move. Trump accused Harvard University of being "very slow" to turn over information on foreign students. "We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalized lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country," Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday.
