Conservative Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s weekend presidential runoff election, according to the final vote count on Monday. Nawrocki won 50.89% of votes in a very tight race against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11%.
The race had Poland on edge since a first round of voting two weeks earlier, revealing deep divisions in the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union, reports AP.
Nawrocki will succeed Andrzej Duda, a conservative whose second and final term ends on August 6 later this year.
The outcome suggests that Poland can be expected to take a more populist and nationalist path under its new leader.
US president Donald Trump also made it clear he wanted Nawrocki as Poland’s president and welcomed him to the White House a month ago. Kristi Noem, the US Homeland Security Secretary and a prominent Trump ally, suggested that military ties could deepen with Nawrocki as president. The US has about 10,000 troops stationed in Poland.
A common refrain from Nawrocki’s supporters is that he will restore “normality,” as they believe Trump has done. US flags often appeared at Nawrocki’s rallies, and his supporters believed that he offered a better chance for good ties with the Trump administration.
Nawrocki, a 42-year-old amateur boxer and historian, was tapped by the Law and Justice party as part of its push for a fresh start. He had no previous political experience.
He has most recently been the head of the Institute of National Remembrance, which embraces nationalist historical narratives and led efforts to topple monuments to the Soviet Red Army in Poland, and Russia responded by putting him on a wanted list, according to Polish media reports.
Nawrocki’s supporters describe him as the embodiment of traditional, patriotic values; his candidacy was clouded by allegations of past connections to criminal figures and his participation in a violent street brawl. He denies the criminal links but was unapologetic about the street fight. The revelations did not seem to hurt his support among right-wing voters, many of whom see the allegations as politically motivated.
Nawrocki’s presidency presents a direct challenge to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who returned to power in late 2023 pledging to mend relations with the EU and restore judicial independence which Brussels said was eroded by Law and Justice, the party that backed Nawrocki.
Under the Polish constitution, the president serves a five-year term and may be re-elected once. Most day-to-day power in the Polish political system rests with a prime minister chosen by the parliament. However, the president’s role is not merely ceremonial. The office holds the power to influence foreign policy and veto legislation.