Karol Nawrocki, a conservative candidate backed by former US President Donald Trump, achieved a surprising victory over liberal incumbent Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland’s presidential election on June 1. Nawrocki's win, with 50.89% of the vote, represents a setback for Prime Minister Donald Tusk, boosting hopes for the conservative Law and Justice party to regain power by 2027. While supporting NATO and backing Ukraine in its fight against Russia, Nawrocki's stance on Ukraine’s NATO membership reflects changing Polish sentiments towards Ukraine, particularly in light of recent diplomatic tensions.
Nawrocki will take a firm stance against Russia's imperial ambitions. He is a strong supporter of NATO and the alliance with the United States, and he will continue Poland's active role in the region. He will also back Ukraine in its fight against Russia. However, his victory is also partly a reaction to [Ukrainian] President Zelenskyy's public disrespect toward [outgoing Polish] President [Andrzej] Duda—especially his 2023 speech at the UN General Assembly, where he compared Poland to Russia. For Nawrocki's voters, that was unacceptable.
Nawrocki won the election with 50.89 percent of the votes, dealing a major set-back for Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a close ally of Trzaskowski, and boosts the hope of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which backed Nawrocki, to return to power in 2027—or potentially even earlier.
This election was widely regarded as Trzaskowski's to lose. He was narrowly beaten by Duda in the last presidential election in 2020 and was until recently seen as the clear favorite to win this time around.
Collection
[
|
...
]