Nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s presidential election, official results showed yesterday, in a major blow for the pro-EU government.
The 42-year-old fan of US President Donald Trump scored 50.9 percent of the vote in Sunday’s runoff in the highly polarized NATO and EU nation.
His 53-year-old rival, Rafal Trzaskowski, Warsaw’s pro-EU mayor and an ally of the centrist government led by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, won 49.1 percent.
Photo: Reuters
Trzaskowski took hours to concede defeat.
“Congratulations to Karol Nawrocki... This win is an obligation, especially in such difficult times. Especially with a close result. Don’t forget that,” he said on X.
Nawrocki’s win would block the government’s progressive agenda for abortion and LGBTQ rights, and could revive tensions with Brussels over rule-of-law issues.
“Nawrocki’s presidency will be a rough ride for the Tusk government,” analyst Piotr Buras said in a statement.
He said the election result was a “yellow card” for the government and could lead to “early parliamentary elections, maybe not this year, but next.”
Nawrocki’s victory could undermine strong ties with Ukraine, as he is critical of Kyiv’s EU and NATO accession plans and wants to cut benefits for Ukrainian refugees.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday said that he looked forward to “continued fruitful cooperation with Poland and with President Nawrocki personally.”
Polish presidents have some influence over foreign and defense policy, and wield veto power over legislation.
Reforms planned by Tusk, a former European Council president who came to power in 2023, have been held up by a deadlock with the current president, who endorsed Nawrocki.
Many Nawrocki supporters say they want stricter curbs on immigration, and advocate conservative social values and more sovereignty for the country within the EU.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “confident” that “very good cooperation” would continue with Warsaw.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hailed his fellow nationalist’s “fantastic victory,” writing on X: “We are looking forward to working with you.”
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen also welcomed the “good news,” while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered “best wishes” to Nawrocki and said their countries “share common values.”
Nawrocki had visited the White House during his campaign and said Trump told him: “You will win.”
Outgoing Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who has served the two-term limit, congratulated Nawrocki and thanked Poles for the voter turnout of 72 percent.
Far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen, who came third in the first round of the election and played kingmaker in the runoff, also sent his congratulations.
He said his Confederation party’s voters expected Nawrocki to “not put Ukraine’s interests on par with ours.”
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