Nationalist populist Karol Nawrocki will be Poland’s next president after a tight election race. His victory marks a significant boost for the populist tide in Europe and around the globe.
Electoral Commission results on Monday showed that Nawrocki, backed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, won 50.89 percent of the vote. His rival, liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, received 49.11 percent in Sunday’s run-off.
The close result is being viewed as an illustration of the deep divide in Polish society between conservative forces, often linked to the powerful Catholic Church, and liberals, largely based in major cities.
Although the government holds the majority of power in Poland, Nawrocki is expected to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Andrzej Duda from PiS in using the president’s veto power to block Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s agenda.
Tusk’s centrist coalition government has pledged to reform the judicial system, which PiS revamped during eight years in power that came to an end in 2023. PiS’s changes caused a bitter fight with the European Union, which said they politicised the judiciary and were undemocratic.
The government has also struggled to ease restrictions on abortion and institute LGBTQ rights due to Duda’s resistance.
Nawrocki has pledged to protect Poland’s sovereignty from what he calls excessive interference from Brussels while he also has been critical of Ukraine’s hopes of joining the EU and NATO.
Although he remains supportive of Kyiv in its war against Russia, Nawrocki has also promised to put the interests of Poles above the large number of Ukrainian refugees that the country has taken in.
Therefore, his victory could complicate Warsaw’s relations with the EU and impact its support for Ukrainian refugees.
United States President Donald Trump gave Nawrocki his blessing before the election, and right-wing forces in Europe, who were disappointed by the defeat of nationalist George Simion in Romania’s presidential election last month, have been quick to celebrate.
Here is how the world reacted to his victory:
Poland
Trzaskowski conceded defeat and congratulated Nawrocki on his win but also cautioned him to represent all Poles. “This win is an obligation, especially in such difficult times. Especially with a close result. Don’t forget that,” Trzaskowski said on X.
Slawomir Mentzen, leader of the far-right Confederation party, who came third in the May 18 first round of the election, told Nawrocki: “I am really counting on you not forgetting those millions of voters who did not vote for you in the first round but did yesterday. These people wanted change.”
“The referendum on the dismissal of the Tusk government has been won,” PiS lawmaker Jacek Sasin wrote on X.
European Union
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent her congratulations, saying she is “confident” that “very good cooperation” with Warsaw would continue.
“We are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy, and values. So let us work to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home,” she said on X.
Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he looks forward to “fruitful cooperation” with Poland.
“By reinforcing one another on our continent, we give greater strength to Europe in global competition and bring the achievement of real and lasting peace closer,” Zelenskyy said.
Germany
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier congratulated Nawrocki and urged Poland to “cooperate closely based on democracy and rule of law”, stating that the two neighbours must cooperate to “ensure a future of security, freedom and prosperity for Europe”.
NATO
Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he was looking forward to working with Nawrocki on “making sure that with Poland, NATO becomes even stronger than it is today”.
France
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen welcomed the result of the election, branding it as “a rebuff to the Brussels oligarchy, which intends to impose a standardisation of legislation on member states, contrary to any democratic will”, and the European Commission’s “authoritarian policies and federalist ambitions [that] are brutalising national sovereignty”.
Hungary
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who seeks to make himself a figurehead for Europe’s nationalist populist forces, congratulated Nawrocki on his “fantastic victory”. Orban added that he is “looking forward to working with [Nawrocki] on strengthening Visegrad cooperation”, a reference to the four-nation Visegrad Group, in which the Czech Republic and Slovakia are also members.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called Nawrocki’s success a “fresh victory for [European] patriots”.
Romania
“Poland WON,” Simion, whose failure to win the Romanian presidency disappointed nationalist and eurosceptic forces, wrote on X.
