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Translated by: Flutura Gashi-Mehmeti
- June 2, 2025 11:39
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Karol Nawrocki, the conservative historian who won Poland's presidential election, created a tough image during his campaign, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
While his liberal opponent, Rafal Trzaskowski, played up his European credentials, Nawrocki met with Donald Trump at the White House and received the US president's support for his bid for Poland's top job.
According to the final result from the electoral commission, Nawrocki won the election with 50.89% of the vote.
Unlike other Eurosceptics in central Europe, such as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Nawrocki supports providing military aid to Ukraine.
But he has said that, if elected, he would oppose membership in Western alliances for Ukraine, a position aimed at resonating with declining support for Ukrainians among Poles, who have hosted more than a million refugees from across the border.
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His supporters in the Law and Justice (PiS) party had supported rapid EU and NATO membership for Kiev while he was in power until the end of 2023.
Nawrocki's critics have said he was raising concerns about Ukrainian refugees at a time when the far right is emphasizing migration, the cost of living and security. He has 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 judicial reforms of the previous PiS administration. The EU says PiS's reforms undermined the independence of the courts.
In the last two weeks, the candidates fought mainly for the support of people who voted for other candidates in the first round, in particular the far-right Slawomir Mentzen, who came in third with 15% support.
Trzaskowski tried to lure them with promises of deregulation. Nawrocki defended 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 towards Ukraine, in sync with Mentzen's.
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His wife Marta, a civil servant, and three children featured strongly in his campaign.
Nawrocki's past has been the subject of intense public debate after a series of negative media reports. There were questions about his purchase of an apartment by a pensioner and an admission that he had participated in orchestrated fights.
"All my sporting activities were based on the strength of my heart, the strength of my muscles and my punches," Nawrocki, an amateur boxer, said in a debate when confronted with reports that he had been involved in mass organised fights between football hooligans.
"It was a fair competition, regardless of the form," he said.
His Law and Justice party supporters have accused the government of orchestrating the controversy with the help of Poland's special services and liberal media. The government has denied these accusations.
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Nawrocki has portrayed the election as a referendum on the government, which he described as a metropolitan elite out of touch with their concerns.
"I'm just one of you," he told voters in the eastern town of Biala Podlaska while on the campaign trail.
